The Pampas are the fertile lowland grasslands of central Argentina, Uruguay and southernmost Brazil, one of the great temperate grassland systems of the world alongside North America's Great Plains and the Eurasian steppe. Their name comes from a Quechua word for a flat, treeless plain, and the region's deep, rich soils and gentle relief made it, historically, an open grassland ecosystem grazed by native herbivores such as the greater rhea, the pampas deer and the maned wolf. The Pampas are also the cultural home of the gaucho, the region's traditional horseback cattle herder, whose way of life grew directly out of the grassland's vast open range. Over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the native grassland was extensively converted to cattle ranching and, increasingly, to some of the most productive cropland in the world, making the Pampas today both an ecologically significant temperate grassland and one of the most heavily agricultural landscapes on the South American continent, with intact native grassland now surviving mainly in scattered remnants rather than as a continuous plain.
Facts
Classification
Biogeographic Realm Protected StatusLarge-scale biome/ecoregion spanning many jurisdictions: it contains formally protected reserves and parks alongside unprotected land, so no single stronger category applies to the region as a whole. Area (sq km) Pampas
Filter Results1 entry
Connections
Demonstrates
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Periodic grass fires, whether natural or set by ranchers, have long shaped the Pampas grassland, suppressing woody encroachment and recycling nutrients.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Hosts
Source Arctotherium (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Geoffroy's Cat
Additional Source Pampas (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Wikipedia: Great Horned Owl
Source Molina's hog-nosed skunk (Wikipedia)
Source Pampas fox (Wikipedia)
Source Dusicyon avus (Wikipedia)
Source Triatoma infestans (Wikipedia)
In Biome
Source World Wildlife Fund
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Pampas
WikipediaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
The Pampas (; from Quechua pampa 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plains, are fertile low grasslands in southern South America that cover more than 1,200,000 km2 (460,000 sq mi) and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil's southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul.
2. World Wildlife Fund
3. Pampas (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section, first sentence, grassland area figure
are fertile low grasslands in southern South America that cover more than 1,200,000 km2 (460,000 sq mi)
Lead paragraph
fertile low grasslands in southern South America
Hosts: Geoffroy's Cat, Article text
Mammals that are still fairly present include Brazilian guinea pig, southern mountain cavy, coypu, Pampas fox, Geoffroy's cat, lesser grison, white-eared opossum, Molina's hog-nosed skunk, big lutrine opossum, big hairy armadillo and southern long-nosed armadillo.
View the Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDemonstrates: DroughtView the Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Dusicyon avus (Wikipedia)
Hosts: South American fox, RangeQuote, Hosts: South American fox, Range
Dusicyon avus range extended through the Pampas and Patagonia in the south-central and southern parts of South America
Pampas fox (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Pampas fox, LeadQuote, Hosts: Pampas fox, Lead
is a medium-sized zorro, or "false" fox, native to the South American Pampas
Patagonian weasel
Hosts: Patagonian weasel, LeadQuote, Hosts: Patagonian weasel, Lead
Its geographic range is the Pampas of western Argentina and sections of Chile.
Arctotherium (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Arctotherium angustidens, Paleoecology, Southern Cone, Pampas, Ensenadan faunal stageQuote, Hosts: Arctotherium angustidens, Paleoecology, Southern Cone, Pampas, Ensenadan faunal stage
In the Ensenadan, A. angustidens was only rivalled in size by Smilodon populator
Molina's hog-nosed skunk (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Molina's Hog-nosed Skunk, Habitat, biomeQuote, Hosts: Molina's Hog-nosed Skunk, Habitat, biome
mainly described as the Pampas biome and preferring to live in open vegetation
Wikipedia: Great Horned Owl
WikipediaHosts: Great Horned Owl, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Great Horned Owl, Distribution and habitat
The great horned owl can take up residence in trees that border all manner of deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests, tropical rainforests, pampas, prairie, mountainous areas, deserts, subarctic tundra, rocky coasts, mangrove swamp forests, and some urban areas.
Wikipedia: Nutria
Hosts: Nutria, Native ecological roleQuote, Hosts: Nutria, Native ecological role
Studies in the Argentine Pampas have likewise found a close relationship between coypu foraging and riparian vegetation.
Triatoma infestans (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Triatoma infestans, LeadQuote, Hosts: Triatoma infestans, Lead
During the Beagle survey voyage, Charles Darwin noted in his journal for 26 March 1835 having "experienced an attack, & it deserves no less a name, of the Benchuca, the great black bug of the Pampas.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.