Southern cone
| Southern Cone | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Area | 4,944,081 square kilometres (1,908,920 sq mi) |
| Population | 135,707,204 (July 2010 est.) |
| Density | 27.45/km2 (71.1/sq mi) |
| Countries | 3, 4, or 5 |
| Dependencies | 18 |
| Demonym | South American |
| Languages | Spanish, Portuguese, indigenous languages, and many others |
| Largest urban agglomerations (2010) |
1.  Buenos Aires2.  Santiago3.  Montevideo4. Córdoba5. Valparaiso6. Concepción7. Rosario8. Mendoza
|
Southern Cone (Spanish: Cono Sur, Portuguese: Cone Sul) is a geographic region composed of the southernmost areas of South America, south of and around the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and south to the junction between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, which is the closest continental area of Antarctica (1000 km). In terms of social and political geography, the Southern Cone comprises Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Southern Brazil and sometimes Paraguay.
High life expectancy, the highest Human Development Index of Latin America, high standard of living, significant participation in the global markets and the emerging economy of its members make the Southern Cone the most prosperous macro-region in Latin America.
The climates are mostly temperate, but include humid subtropical, Mediterranean, highland tropical, maritime temperate, sub-Antarctic temperate, highland cold, desert and semi-arid temperate regions. Except for northern regions of Argentina (thermal equator in January), the whole country of Paraguay, the Argentina-Brazil border and the interior of the Atacama desert, the region rarely suffers from heat. In addition to that, the winter presents mostly cool temperatures. Strong and constant wind and high humidity is what brings low temperatures in the winter. The Atacama is the driest place on Earth.
One of the most peculiar plants of the region is the Araucaria tree, which can be found in southern Brazil, Chile and Argentina. The only native group of conifers found in the southern hemisphere had its origin in the Southern Cone. Araucaria angustifolia, once widespread in Southern Brazil, is now a critically endangered species, protected by law. The steppe region of central Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil is known as the Pampas.
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