Everything about The Pampas totally explained
The
Pampas (from
Quechua, meaning "plain") are the fertile
South American lowlands that include the
Argentine provinces of
Buenos Aires,
La Pampa,
Santa Fe, and
Córdoba, most of
Uruguay, and the southernmost end of
Brazil,
Rio Grande do Sul, covering more than . These vast plains are only interrupted by the low Ventana and Tandil hills near
Bahía Blanca and
Tandil (Argentina), with a height of and respectively. The climate is mild, with
precipitation of to, more or less evenly distributed through the year, making the
soils appropriate for
agriculture. The average rainfall is to per year. This area is also one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger
Parana-Paraguay Plain division. These plains contain unique wildlife due to the different terrain around it. Some of this wildlife includes the badger and praire chicken.
Frequent
fires ensure that only small plants such as
grasses flourish and
trees are rare. The dominant
vegetation types are grassy
prairie and grass
steppe in which numerous species of the grass genus
Stipa are particularly conspicuous. "Pampas Grass" (
Cortaderia selloana) is an iconic species of the Pampas. Vegetation typically includes perennial grasses and
herbs. Different strata of grasses occur due to gradients of
water availability. The Pampas are home to a wide variety of native species, although there's an almost absolute lack of native trees, except along main watercourses.
The
World Wildlife Fund divides the Pampa into three distinct
ecoregions. The
Uruguayan savanna lies east of the
Uruguay River, and includes all of Uruguay and the southern portion of Brazil's state of Rio Grande do Sul. The
Humid Pampas include eastern Buenos Aires Province, and southern Entre Rios Province. The
Semi-arid Pampas includes western Buenos Aires Province and adjacent portions of Santa Fe, Cordoba, and La Pampa provinces. The Pampas are bounded by the drier
Argentine espinal grasslands, which form a semi-circle around the north, east, and south of the Humid Pampas.
Its climate, as in the mid-latitudes, is naturally changeable.
Winters are cool to mild and
summers are very warm and humid.
Rainfall is fairly uniform throughout the year but is a little heavier during the summer. Annual rainfall is heaviest near the coast and decreases gradually further inland. Rain during the late
spring and summer usually arrives in the form of brief heavy showers and thunderstorms. More general rainfall occurs the remainder of the year as
cold fronts and storm systems move through. Although cold spells during the winter often send nighttime temperatures below freezing, snow is quite rare. In most winters, a few light
snowfalls occur over inland areas. Snow is extremely rare near the river's coast (the so called
Litoral).
Central Argentina boasts a successful agricultural business, with crops grown on the Pampas south and west of the
Buenos Aires. In particular, the harvested area of
soybeans is on pace to set a record, according to the Food and Agricultural Service. Much of the area is also used for grazing
cattle. These farming regions (for example, modified of disturbed Pampas) are particularly susceptible to
flooding during heavy rainfall. In October 2001 an estimated 35,000 km² of the pampas were flooded. Buenos Aires reported nearly of rainfall during that month, which is more than double the normal amount.
Further Information
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