This article is about the lowland plains in South America. For other meanings, see Pampa (disambiguation).

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 750,000 km² (290,000 square miles). These vast plains are only interrupted by the low Ventania mountain range near Bahía Blanca (Argentina), with 1,300 m height. The climate is mild, with precipitation of 600 to 1,200 mm, more or less evenly distributed through the year, making the soils appropriate for agriculture. Administrative divisions The provinces of Argentina are commonly grouped into six geographical regions. ... The Argentine Northwest is a region of Argentina composed by the provinces of Jujuy, Salta, Catamarca and Tucumán. ... Landscape in the Gran Chaco, Paraguay The Gran Chaco (Quechua chaqu, hunting land), dubbed by some as the last South American frontier, is an arid, sparsely populated, very hot, semi-desertic, lowland region of the River Plate basin, divided between Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and a small portion in Brazil called... La Mesopotamia, Región Mesopotámica or Litoral (Littoral) is the humid and verdant area of north-east Argentina, comprising the provinces of Misiones, Entre Ríos and Corrientes. ... Cuyo is the name given to the wine-producing, mountainous area of north-west Argentina, comprising the provinces of San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza. ... Patagonia is that portion of South America which, to the east of the Andes, lies south of the Neuquén and Colorado rivers, and, to the west of the Andes, south of (42°S). ... Antarctic portion between meridians 25º West and 74º West Argentine Antarctica (in Spanish, Antártida Argentina) is a sector of Antarctica which Argentina considers part of its National Territory. ... For the Antarctic Treaty from the Gundam anime, see Antarctic Treaty (Gundam) The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate the international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earths only uninhabited continent. ... Pampa may refer to: Pampa, the South American Plains. ... Quechua (Standard Quechua, Runasimi Language of People) is an Native American language of South America. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... The Buenos Aires province (IPA: , Spanish: Provincia de Buenos Aires) is the largest, wealthiest and most populated province of Argentina. ... La Pampa is a province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the centre of the country. ... Map of Argentina highlighting the province Santa Fe is a province of Argentina, located in the north of the country. ... Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the centre of the country. ... Rio Grande do Sul (pron. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A square mile is an Imperial unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (5,280 feet, 1,760 yards, 1,609. ... The most general definition of a mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands. ... Bahía Blanca is a city in Buenos Aires Province, eastern Argentina, and a seaport at the head of the Bahia Blanca (White Bay - an arm of the Atlantic Ocean) at the mouth of the River Naposta. ... Soil is material capable of supporting plant life. ...

Frequent fires ensure that only small plants such as grasses flourish chea tyros ya mutha and trees are exceptional. 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 is an almost absolute lack of native trees, except along main watercourses. It has been suggested that flame be merged into this article or section. ... Subfamilies There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, also known as Gramineae. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere. ... Prairie refers to an area of land in North America of low topographic relief that principally supports grasses and herbs, with few trees, and is generally of a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian степь or step and pronounced in English as step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by... Species Stipa arundinacea Stipa avenacea - black oat grass Stipa brachytricha - Korean feather grass Stipa calamagrostis - Spear Grass Stipa canadensis Stipa capillata Stipa comata Stipa gigantea - giant feather grass, golden oats Stipa joannis Stipa mollis Stipa pennata - feather grass Stipa pulchra - purple stipa Stipa spartea - porcupine grass Stipa splendens Stipa tenacissima... Binomial name Cortaderia selloana J.A. & J.H. Schultes Cortaderia selloana, commonly known as Pampas Grass or Uruguayan pampas grass, is a tall grass native to the pampas of South America. ... A herb (pronounced hurb in Commonwealth English and urb in American English) is a plant grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual value. ... A girl in a swimming pool full of water Water (from the Old English waeter; c. ...

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 coast. Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. ... Summer is a season, defined by convention in meteorology as the whole months of June, July, and August, in the Northern hemisphere, and the whole months of December, January, and February, in the Southern hemisphere. ... Rain falling For other uses see Rain (disambiguation). ... Spring is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. ... In meteorology, a weather front is a boundary between two air masses with differing characteristics (e. ... Snow is precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes. ...

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 (i.e., 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 250 mm (9.84 in) of rainfall during that month, which is more than double the normal amount. Buenos Aires (English: Fair Winds, originally Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires, City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds) is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, as well as... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage, or kine [archaic]) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... A flood (in Old English flod, a word common to Teutonic languages; compare German Flut, Dutch vloed from the same root as is seen in flow, float) is an overflow of water, an expanse of water submerging land, a deluge. ...

External links

• Britannica Encyclopedia
• The Pampas
• Encyclopedia.com
• Climate Impacts
• Centres of Plant Diversity
• Climate Guide to South America
• Humid Pampas (World Wildlife Fund)
• Semi-arid Pampas (World Wildlife Fund)

See also

• Pampas Republic