International River Boundaries in the Argentine Republic
| Published date | 01 April 1987 |
| Author | Alfredo De Las Carreras |
| Date | 01 April 1987 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711788700900105 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
56
INTERNATIONAL
RIVER
BOUNDARIES
IN
THE
ARGENTINE
REPUBLIC
ALFREDO
DE
LAS
CARRERAS
Introduction
The
Argentine
Republic
is
situated
in
the
southern
triangle
of
South
America,
between
the
Andes
mountain
range
and
the
Atlantic
Ocean.
Its
continental
surface
amounts
to
2,800,000
Kin2,,
its
seas
and
continental
shelf
amount
to
a
similar
figure
and,
if
the
southern
archipelagos,
which
are
the
subject
of
sovereignty
claims,
and
that
sector
of Antarctica
claimed
by Argentina
are
also
included,
then
a
further
equivalent
amount
may
be
added.
The
climate
in
Argentina
is
mainly
temperate
since
most
of
its
territory
extends
south
of
the
Tropic
of
Capricorn.
It
has
one
of
the
most
fertile
plains pampas-in
the
world,
in
the
heart
of
which
lies
the
area
known
as
the
Mesopotamia.
The
Mesopotamia
is
enclosed
between
the
Parana
and
Uruguay
Rivers,
both
of
which
flow
into
the
River
Plate.
All
three
rivers
are
international
in
character.
Almost
all
Argentina’s
borders
have
been
established
by
reference
to
geographical
landmarks.
Out
of
a
total
perimeter
of
14,393
Km,
barely
900
do
not
coincide
with
physical
frontiers.
The
borders
between
Argentina
and
three
of
its
neighbours-Uruguay,
Brazil
and
Paraguay-were
drawn
up
entirely
by
reference
to
rivers;
the
border
between
Argentina
and
Chile
is
established
by
a
long
mountain
range
and,
in
the
East,
there
is
the
Atlantic
seafront.
However,
in
the
north
of
Argentina
a
mixed
system
of
demarcation
has
been
agreed
on
with
Bolivia,
entailing
the
application
of
astronomic
methods
as
well
as
references
to
rivers
and
mountains,
and
in
the
insular
regions
of
the
South,
an
astronomic
limit
of
200
Km
separates
the
country
from
Chile.
This
article
shows
how
Argentina
settled
her
boundary
problems
with
regard
to
international
waterways.
Only
brief
reference
is
made
to
the
historical
background
and
the
course
of
the
negotiations,
but
the
variety
of
approaches
adopted
illuminates
the
need
for
a
flexible
approach
to
the
problems
of
the
delimitation
of
international
boundaries.
As
will
be
seen,
Argentina
proved
itself
generous
towards
its
less
favoured
neighbours
in
its
choice
of
criteria.
It
should be
pointed
out
that
none
of Argentina’s
boundaries
was
established
as a
result
of
war
or
other
pressure.
After
winning
the
war
against
Paraguay,
the
Argentine
Republic
submitted
to
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