Ecosystems

Pantanal

Citation Formats

General Reference

Nature Atlas. "Pantanal." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/ecosystems/pantanal.

APA Style

Nature Atlas. (n.d.). Pantanal. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/ecosystems/pantanal

BibTeX

@misc{natureatlas-pantanal,
  author = {Nature Atlas},
  title = {Pantanal},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/ecosystems/pantanal},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The largest tropical wetland on Earth, spanning parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay in the upper basin of the Paraguay River, where an annual flood pulse submerges vast grasslands for months before receding into a dry season mosaic of lagoons and gallery forest. The seasonal rhythm of flood and drought supports one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife in South America, including the largest population of jaguars on the continent, along with capybaras, giant otters, caimans and the towering jabiru stork. Recognized by UNESCO as the Pantanal Conservation Complex, the wetland has in recent years suffered increasingly severe dry season wildfires linked to drought and land clearing on its margins.

Facts

Disputed

Area (sq km)

150,000 1

Estimates range from roughly 150,000 to 195,000 square kilometers depending on the boundary definition used and seasonal flood extent; this figure reflects a commonly cited conservative estimate.

Cross-Tradition Connections