| Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
| Geographic coordinates | 33 00 S, 56 00 W |
| Map references | South America |
| Area | total: 176,215 sq km land: 175,015 sq km water: 1,200 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about the size of Virginia and West Virginia combined; slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,591 km border countries (2): Argentina 541 km, Brazil 1050 km |
| Coastline | 660 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin |
| Climate | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
| Terrain | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 109 m |
| Natural resources | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fish |
| Land use | agricultural land: 87.2% (2018 est.) arable land: 10.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 76.9% (2018 est.) forest: 10.2% (2018 est.) other: 2.6% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 2,380 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 172.2 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts |
| Geography - note | second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
