Uruguay

At 176,214 km² of continental land 142,199 km² of jurisdictional water and small river islands, Uruguay is the second smallest sovereign nation in South America. The landscape features mostly rolling plains and low hill ranges with a fertile coastal lowland.

A dense fluvial network covers the country, consisting of four river basins or deltas; the Rio de la Plata, the Uruguay River, the Laguna Merin and the Rio Negro. The major internal river is the Río Negro. Several lagoons are found along the Atlantic coast.

The highest point in the country is the Cerro Catedral at 514 metres in the Sierra Carape hill range. To the southwest is the Rio de Plata, the estuary of the Uruguay River, which forms the western border, and the Parana River.

A longstanding border dispute with Brazil involving territory in the north of Uruguay has not harmed close diplomatic relations with Brazil in years

The climate in Uruguay is temperate: it has warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. The predominantly gently undulating landscape is somewhat vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts. It receives the periodic influence of the polar air in winter, and tropical air from Brazil in summer. Without mountains to act as a barrier, the air masses freely move by the territory, causing abrupt weather changes. Snow is not very common, though winter sees regular frosts.

Uruguayan peso