Argentina

In the country of Argentina, coastal flood hazard is classified as  high  according to the information that is currently available. This means that potentially damaging waves are expected to flood the coast at least once in the next 10 years. Coastal ecosystems are one of the most impacted and altered regions worldwide, both because of natural reasons and because of the large population that is concentrated along the coasts. In Argentina, the problem of coastal erosion is very important as these areas represent 18.33% of the whole territory with 36% of the population living in this area. The Argentine marine coastal areas have an important strategic and economic value as they are the place for industries and ports, as well as commercial, recreational, and touristic activities. Moreover, as stated by the Second National Communication of Argentina to the UNFCCC coastal zones are potentially within the most vulnerable areas of the country because of erosion. This situation m...

Argentina is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Because of its large surface area and unique geography, the country is prone to desertification, flooding, drought, volcanic eruptions, heavy snowfalls, landslides, earthquakes, and tornados. The direct impact of climate change has been observed across the country in recent years. Slow and gradual changes such as increased precipitation and temperatures have been observed in many parts of the country. In addition, Argentina has also suffered numerous extreme climate events that have resulted in disasters. Argentina is experiencing one of the worst droughts in the past two decades, driven by a third consecutive year of La Niña. The dry conditions threaten to set back the planting of the country’s corn and soybean crops and damage the upcoming harvest of winter wheat.  In Argentina’s main corn-growing provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Santa Fe, drought conditions have worsened over the past month , and are currently the...

Landslides are widespread in Argentina. The most catastrophic events have been described for mountain regions, which comprise one-third of the country, extending from the north to the southern border, involving mountains, ranges, tablelands, and sea cliffs. Argentina's landslide susceptibility is classified as high according to the information that is currently available. This means that this area has rainfall patterns, terrain slope, geology, soil, land cover, and earthquakes that make localized landslides a frequent hazard phenomenon.  Argentina experienced a landslide as recently as June 8th of this year. Heavy rainfall has been affecting the Rio Negro Province (central-southern Argentina) since 6 June, triggering a landslide that has resulted in casualties and damage. Media report, as of 8 June, one fatality, two people still missing and three injured people in San Carlos de Bariloche City (far south-west of the Rio Negro Province, near the border with Chile) due...

The active volcanoes of Argentina are located in the Andes mountains on the border with Chile and belong to the subduction zone of the Pacific underneath the Andean (South American) plate straddling the whole west coast of South America, see map below. Nevados Ojos del Salado volcano on the Chile/Argentina border is the world's highest volcano above sea level, but it rises only about 2,000 m above its base. The broad summit of Mauna Loa shield volcano is 2,700 m lower than Nevados Ojos del Salado, but its height above the base is almost 10 times that of the Andean volcano. In Argentina, the volcanic hazard is classified as  high  according to the information that is currently available. This means that the selected area is located less than 50 km from a volcano for which a potentially damaging eruption has been recorded in the past 2,000 years and that future damaging eruptions are possible.  Officials in Chile and Argentina ordered the evacuation of areas near the C...

The map b elow is a South America seismic hazard map with an estimated El Tigre Fault Location inset. The western part of Argentina not only shows a high hazard level but also contains the El Tigre Fault. The further you go east in Argentina, the less hazardous level there is with very low levels on the eastern edge. Argentina is in an active area of the South American plate, containing multiple faults. The El Tigre Fault is currently seismically active. The Gastre Fault Zone is an NW-SE striking dextral Jurassic Gastre fault system in central Patagonia, Argentina. The Huincul Fault Zone is an east-to-west oriented, continental scale fault that extends from the Neuquen Basin eastwards into the Argentine Shelf. The Magallanes-Fagnano Fault is a continental transform fault. The fault marks a transform boundary between the Scotia Plate and the South American Plate, cutting across the continental crust. The Reigolil-Pirihueico Fault is a second-order geological fault located in th...

Argentina is located on the South American Tectonic plate, the map below shows the area to the east of Argentina as passive, while the western side is active. The South American plate is touching the Nazca, Antarctic, and Scotia plates, and is on the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.  The plates in western Argentina are convergent, with the Nazca and Antarctic plates overriding the South American Plate. The plates to the south of Argentina are transforming between the Scotia and the South American plate. The southerly edge of the South American plate is a complex boundary with the Antarctic plate, the Scotia Plate, and the Sandwich Plate, while the westerly edge is a convergent boundary with the subducting Nazca Plate. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the...