Biomes / Ecosystems of Argentina

The Andean Patagonian Forest spreads over steep elevations along a thin strip on both sides of the Andes Mountains in southern South America. These temperate forests in southern Chile and Argentina are the southernmost forests on earth.

The Atlantic Forest, or Mata Atlântica, runs along the coast of eastern and southeastern Brazil, stretching inland into Argentina and Paraguay. Although only a very small part of the original forests remain, it is still one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.

The Dry Chaco ecoregion, or Gran Chaco, is a sparsely populated, hot, semi-arid lowland alluvial plain of the Río de la Plata basin. It is divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of Brazil. The Chaco contains South America's second-largest forest after the Amazon.

Mesopotamia is a geographical region of Argentina in the country's northeastern corner. It features the spectacular Iguazú Falls. Here, the "Missionary Jungle" hosts one of the most biologically important ecosystems in the world, and it is also one of the most endangered rainforests.

The Pampas is a natural region of vast fertile lowland plains in South America that extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes. This flat, fertile grassland biome can be divided into three distinct ecoregions: the Uruguayan Savanna, the Humid Pampas and the Semiarid Pampas.

The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Magellanic Steppe, is a semiarid scrub plateau covering nearly all of the southern portion of mainland Argentina. It is the largest desert in Argentina and is bounded by the Patagonian Andes and the country of Chile to the west.

Puna is a cold, high-elevation grassland region of the montane grasslands and shrublands biome. It is prevalent in the central Andes from northern Peru through western Bolivia into northern Chile and Argentina. Much of the region lies on the Altiplano Plateau.

The Yungas is a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains within Peru, Bolivia and northern Argentina. This humid, subtropical natural region is a transitional zone between the Andean highlands and the eastern forests.