the name argentina
the name argentina comes from the latin argentum which means silver. the origin of the name goes back to the voyages made by the first spanish conquistadors conquerors to the rio de la plata silver river. the shipwrecked survivors of the expedition mounted by juan diaz de solis discovered indians in the region who presented them with silver objects. the news about the legendary sierra del plata, a mountain rich in silver, reached spain around 1524. from this date the portuguese named the river solis, the silver river. two years later the spanish used the same name. since 1860 the official name of the country has been the republica argentina republic of argentina.
location, area and frontiers
located in the southern part of south america and thus in the southern hemisphere, argentina has an area of almost 3.8 million square kilometres, of which 2.8 are on the continent and the remain in the anta...