2. By Michael S. and Nik Z.

3. Argentina is a large country in southern South America. Argentina borders Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay. With an area of 1,068,300 square miles it is the eighth largest country in the world in area. It’s capital, Buenos Aires is Argentina's largest city and the eighth most populous city in the world with a population of more than 13 million. Since Argentina’s population is 41,769,000 Buenos Aires is almost a third of the entire population of the country. To the north and the east of Argentina is a plains called the pampas. To the south is large cold area called the Patagonia. It’s so cold penguins live there. On the western side is the Andes Mountain Range.

4. Argentina’s flag has a ”sun” in the middle because a group of natives that lived in the Andes called the Incas were known as the “people of the sun”. It became Argentina’s flag in 1816. The sun was added to the flag in 1818.

5. National Bird The Rufous Hornero is the national bird of Argentina. It’s name comes from the Spanish word horno which means oven. It is a very common bird.

6. Erythina cristina galli is Argentina’s national flower. The tree that the flower sprouts from is the ceibo. The ceibo is actually Argentina’s national tree. The ceibo is a small tree that can grow about 33 feet tall. The tree’s flowers are filled with nectar and are often visited by insects.

7. Because of the large area Argentina covers there is a large variety of different climates and weather. The north is very warm year round for it is close to the Equator and several rivers are in the area which results in a lot of wetlands. Central Argentina too has hot summers, but unlike nearby areas it has been known to have thunderstorms and tornadoes The southern part of Argentina, Patagonia has very cold weather compared to other areas. Even penguins can be found there!

8. 1480- The Inca empire conquers Argentina. 1516-Spanish explorer Juan Diaz de Solis becomes first European to visit Argentina. 1810-Argentina’s War of Independence begins. 1818-Argentina’s War of Independence over, Argentina’s independent from Spain. 1827- Bernardino Rivadavia becomes Argentina’s first president. 1864-1870-War of the Triple Alliance, war between Paraguay and the allied countries Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, leading to Paraguay’s defeat. 1946-1955-Juan Peron, former military officer is elected president. 1974-Atucha I Nuclear Power Plant, first nuclear plant in Latin America, began operation. 1982-Falkland War, war between Argentina and the British Empire, ends in Argentina losing the war. 2007-Cristina Kirchner becomes president.

9. R ELIGION, L ANGUAGE, AND E DUCATION Education is highly valued in Argentina. All children between the age of six and fourteen must go to school by law. After France, Argentina has the highest amount of people that graduate from collage. Argentina’s official language is Spanish. More Spanish speaking people are in Argentina than any other country besides Mexico, Spain, and Colombia. Italian has the second most popular language in Argentina with about 1,500,000 speakers. A majority of Argentina's population is Roman Catholic. About 11% of the population is non-religious. Argentina also has largest amount of Jews in Latin America.

10. GOVERNMENT The government of Argentina is a Democracy. It has a president who is the head of government and state. Executive power is exercised by the president. Legislative power is vested in both the Executive and National Congress. The Judiciary is independent from the Executive and Legislative. Argentina’s unit of currency is the Argentine peso.

11. ECONOMY Agriculture-Argentina is famous for it’s agriculture. With over 54 million head of cattle, Argentina’s beef is renowned around the world. Argentina also grows several fruits and vegetables. Argentina is also the world’s fifth largest producer in wine. Mining-Some minerals that get mined in Argentina are copper, tin, lead, zinc, gold, silver, and uranium. Industry-Among some items that are in Argentina’s industry are food textiles, clothing, metallic, wood products, paper, chemicals, steel, cars, turbines, and cranes.

12.  Buenos Aires has the worlds widest street, Avenida Nueve de Julio. It is 425 feet wide.  Argentine cowboys are called Gauchos.  The National Flag Memorial in Rosario was built in memorial of Manuel Belgrano, the creator of the Argentine flag. Interesting Facts

13.  www.Google.com www.Google.com  www.Google Images.com www.Google Images.com  www.Culturegrams.com www.Culturegrams.com  www.Wikapedia.com www.Wikapedia.com  www.Embassy of Argentina.com www.Embassy of Argentina.com  My First Atlas by Katie John Sharp