Lago Argentino lies within Los Glaciares National Park in a landscape accented by numerous glaciers, and the lakes of the area are fed by the glacial meltwater of several rivers.

The glaciers, the nearby town of El Calafate, and the lake itself are all important tourist destinations with many unique hostels, hotels and other amenities catering to the outdoors located in the region.

Lago Argentino and its surrounding terrain is home to numerous living organisms; as of 2024, the biodiversity database iNaturalist lists nearly 500 recorded plant[3] and almost 400 animal[4] species as being found in the area, as well as nearly 100 types of fungi and lichen.

[6] Many are endemic to the region, such as the roughly 50-60 species of wading birds and waterfowl; iconic amphibious species, like Andean and Chilean flamingos, as well as the black-headed duck, black-necked swan, cinnamon teal, crested duck, Coscoroba swan, kelp goose, silver teal, torrent duck and many others can be found here, as well as varied species of coot, cormorant, dotterel, gallinule, godwit, grebe, gull, knot, lapwing, oystercatcher, phalarope, plover, sandpiper, snipe, stilt, tern and yellowlegs.

Other birds include the famous Andean condor (the largest New World vulture), Austral parakeet, Austral pygmy-owl, cinereous harrier, crested caracara, the flightless Darwin's rhea (the largest bird in the area), lesser horned owl, Magellanic woodpecker, and the short-eared owl.