Argentina is the second largest country in South America, located at the southern end of the continent. It has a diverse landscape that includes Patagonia, the Andes mountains, and fertile plains. The population is mostly of European descent and Roman Catholic. Agriculture is a major industry, with crops like soybeans, grapes, and wheat grown, as well as livestock like cattle raised. Beef consumption is very high in Argentina. Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city.

1. Argentina

2. Argentina Comprising almost the entire southern half of South America, Argentina is the world's eighth largest country, covering an area of 2.8 million square km.

3. Argentina Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest Landforms: It is home to Patagonia in the South, and Andes along the Western Border. Resources: tin, fertile plains, uranium, lead, manganese, zinc, copper, iron ore, petroleum. It has a total area of 2,766,890 sq km

4. Argentina Ethnic Groups 97% white (Italian and Spanish) 3% mestizo, Amerindian, or non-white Religions 92% Roman Catholic (< 20% practicing) 2% Protestant 2% Jewish 4% Other Languages Spanish (Official) Italian, English, German, French Government Republic Economy Agriculture and Industry sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat, livestock food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Buenos_Aires-Puerto_Madero-Hilton-River_View.jpg

5. Bueno Aires

6. Pampas Mostly in Argentina, the Pampas are a grassland biome . They are flat, fertile plains that cover an area of 300,000 sq. miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains. Over 10 % of Argentina is arable .

7. Beef In Argentina, beef has been a staple food for nearly a century. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, when the average person in Argentina consumed 250 pounds per year, beef has been the primary meat product in the Argentine diet.

8. Argentina possesses some of the world's tallest mountains, expansive deserts, and impressive waterfalls. Iguassu Falls

9. Brazil Argentina Iguazu Falls

10. Tango Tango developed around 1850 and 1880 on both shores of Rio de La Plata. In the city of Buenos Aires, specifically in a neighborhood called Monserrat, crowds would gather at night for the practice of dances such as Tango , Candombe and Fandango, all of which had a bad reputation among the higher classes ruling Argentinean society at the time.

11. Civil strife Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions.

12. Peronistas After World War II, a long period of Peronist authoritarian rule and interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983, and numerous elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation. Juan Peron was a dictator who ruled Argentina in the 1940s and 1950s and again briefly before his death in 1973.

13. Tierra del F uego The Land of Fire is actually an archipelago including the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and numerous smaller islands.

15. Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands are a group of islands in the south Atlantic. The two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, lie 300 miles east of the Argentina coast. About 200 smaller islands form a total land area of approximately 4,700 square miles.

16. The government of the Falkland Islands administers the British dependent territories of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, and the Shag and Clerke rocks, lying from 700 to 2,000 miles to the east and southeast of the Falklands. The total population of the islands in 1991 was estimated at 2100.

17. War in The Falklands The Falklands War started after Argentina invaded and took control of the islands in April 1982. During the war, the British captured about 10,000 Argentine prisoners, all of whom were released afterwards. Argentina sustained 655 men killed, while Britain lost 236.

18. Argentina's ignominious defeat severely discredited the military government and led to the restoration of civilian rule in Argentina in 1983. Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri was an Argentinian general and dictator. He was de facto President of Argentina from 22 Dec. 1981 to 18 June 1982.

19. Falklands War . Depicted by painter Fritz Wagner is the British submarine which sank the Argentine light cruiser, General Belgrano which had once been the USS Phoenix

20. Links CIA.gov/the-world-factbook/Argentina Wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina Trek Earth.com/gallery/South_America/Argentina / World Atlas.com/samerica/Argentina BBC.co.uk/americas/country_profiles/Argentina Casahistoria.net/argentina http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/pampas.htm http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/Ecuador/Galapagos/FrigateBird/FrigateBirds.htm http://www.photobirder.com/Bird_Photos/hoatzin.jpg http://www.pics4learning.com/ http://www.novica.com/itemdetail/index.cfm?pid=83812 http://www.ecuador-travel.net/biodiversity.birds.egret.htm http://www.american.edu/ted/argbeef.htm