With etymological origin in the Latin word austrālis, the austral term can be used as an adjective or as a noun. In the first case, it is a qualifier used in geography and astronomy with reference to that which belongs to the south.
Remember that the south is the cardinal point behind the person who, on his right, has the east. The concept, in this way, is used to name the area that is located in the southern sector of a region or that is further south than another.
Returning to the idea of austral, we can refer to the southern hemisphere or southern hemisphere. If the globe is divided into two halves from the equator, the southern hemisphere is located below the northern or northern hemisphere.
In the southern hemisphere are regions of Africa, Asian islands and Oceania, South America and Australia. In addition, large sectors of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans are also in this hemisphere.
The southern pole, on the other hand, is the southern point at which the axis of rotation cuts the earth’s surface. Also called the South Pole, it is the southernmost region on the planet.
It is known by the name of Chaco Austral to one of the most important divisions of the South American geographic region called Gran Chaco, which includes part of Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia. Unlike the other two parts, the Southern Chaco is found entirely on Argentine soil, and its surface covers: the entire Santiago del Estero, Formosa and Chaco provinces; the north of Santa Fe; the east of Salta; the northeast of Córdoba.
With regard to the relief of the Southern Chaco, we can say that it shares characteristics with the rest of the Gran Chaco: it is a plain of considerable extension that, from a geological point of view, is related to the Pampas, although the Chaco is covered with forests and jungles. With the exception of the transition zones to the west, there are practically no major landforms.
In Chile there is the Carretera Austral, which is in the southern part of the country. If we are based on the data collected in 2014, its route had a total length of 1,240 kilometers and connected Villa O’Higgins with Puerto Montt, but there are plans to expand the route.
The Carretera Austral is the most important land transportation route in the Province of Palena and the Aysén Region, since it allows its inhabitants to access the rest of the country while offering the possibility of making an interesting trip through Chilean Patagonia.. Its origin takes us to the year 1976, and for Chile it represented one of the most ambitious and expensive projects of the 20th century.
Given that the geographical characteristics of the areas through which the road passes are relatively complicated, since lakes, ice fields and turbulent rivers are common, repair work is very frequent and certain sections are not operational. In addition, it is necessary to point out that a large percentage of its surface has not been paved.
Austral is also the name of the currency of Argentina between 1985 and 1992, when it was replaced by the peso (current Argentine legal tender).
The austral was created within the framework of the so-called Austral Plan, a program promoted by the Minister of Economy Juan Vital Sourrouille during the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín. The austral was equivalent to 1,000 Argentine pesos, the currency it replaced.
It is worth mentioning that a university, an airline, a beer brand and a newspaper are named Austral.
