1. Argentina is named after a fabled mountain made of silver and it is the only nation on Earth to be named after a metal. The name “Argentina” is derived from Latin argentum (“silver”) as the nation was once believed to possess silver mountains.
2. Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world and the second largest in Latin America.
3. The name of Argentina’s capital city ‘Buenos Aires’ means “Fair Winds”
4. Friend’s Day is an official holiday in Buenos Aires, although it is not a national public holiday. Friends gather, parties are held, and everyone gets together late at night to celebrate friendship on July 20th of every year.
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5. Parana River is the Longest River in Argentina
6. The currency of Argentina is called the Peso.
7. Argentina declared independence from Spain in 1810
8. The official national sport of Argentina is Pato a game played on horseback. It takes aspects from polo and basketball. The word Pato is Spanish for ‘duck’ as early games used a live duck inside a basket instead of a ball.
9. Argentina is huge – over 1 million square miles
10. The most popular sport is association football (soccer) The national football team has won two FIFA World Cups (1978 and 1986), two Olympic gold medals and fourteen Copa Américas. Argentina has produced some of the greatest players in the world, including joint FIFA Player of the Century Diego Maradona, four time FIFA Ballon d’Or recipient Lionel Messi.
