World Images

The Pantanal is the world’s largest area of wetlands, a flat landscape, with gently sloping and meandering rivers. The region, whose name derives from the Portuguese word “pântano” (meaning “swamp” or “marsh” ), is situated in South America, mostly within the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. There are also small portions in Bolivia and Paraguay. In total, the Pantanal covers about 195,000 square kilometers (75,000 sq mi).

The Pantanal floods during the wet season, submerging over 80% of the area, and nurturing the world's richest collection of aquatic plants. It is thought to be the world’s most dense flora and fauna ecosystem. It is often overshadowed by the Amazon Rainforest, partly because of its proximity, but is just as vital and interesting a part of the neotropic.

The Pantanal is a huge gently sloped basin that receives runoff from the upland areas (the Planalto highlands) and slowly releases the water through a single drainage channel, the Paraguay River. The formation is a result of the large concave pre-Andean depression of the earth’s crust, related to the Andean orogeny of the Tertiary. It constitutes an enormous internal river delta, in which several rivers flowing from the surrounding plateau merge, depositing their sediments and erosion residues, which have been filling, throughout the years, the large depression area of the Pantanal. This area is also one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger Parana-Paraguay Plain division.

The Pantanal is bounded by the Chiquitano dry forests to the west and northwest, by the Arid Chaco dry forests to the southwest, and the Humid Chaco to the south. The Cerrado savannas lie to the north, east, and southeast.
The extent of the Pantanal in Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
The extent of the Pantanal in Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

The Pantanal has an average yearly rainfall of 1,000-1,400 mm (40-55 in), but is fed by the upper Paraguay River. Its average temperature is 25 °C (77 °F), but temperatures can fluctuate from 0 to 40 °C (32 to 104 °F).

During the rainy season (December to May), the Pantanal water levels rise more than three meters. Just as annual floods on the Nile allow for fertile, farmable land, the dramatic increase of water during the rainy season nourishes the producers of Pantanal, which in turn nourishes all the other species as well. Humans have taken advantage of this so much that it has become a problem. Approximately 99% of the land in the Pantanal is privately owned for the purpose of agriculture, and ranching in particular. There are some 2500 fazendas in the region, with up to 8 million head of cattle.

The Pantanal is a natural water treatment facility. It supplies freshwater to the nearby areas by removing chemicals and other pollutants from the water which flows through it. However, when this “cleaning system” becomes overloaded, species which call the Pantanal home begin to suffer. Industrial development (especially gold mining) has begun to cause these problems.

Flora and Fauna

This ecosystem is home to a known 3,500 species of plants, as well as over 1000 birds, 400 species of fish, around 300 species of mammals, and 480 species of reptiles, including the caiman, a species closely related to the alligator, of which there are an estimated 10 million. The Pantanal is a natural home for the Hyacinth Macaw. This bird is endangered due to its US$10,000 price tag on the black market. Other threatened species include the Jaguar, Caiman, Maned Wolf, Bush Dog, Giant Otter, Giant Armadillo, Capybara, Jabiru and Brazilian Tapir.

Pantanal Matogrossense National Park

A portion of the Pantanal in Brazil has been protected as the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park. This 1,350 km² (520 sq mi) park was established in September 1981. It is located in the municipality of Poconé in the State of Mato Grosso, between the mouths of the Bahía de Sao Marcos and the Gurupi River.

This park has been designated a Ramsar Site of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention since May 24, 1993.