The "pampas" (from Quechua for 'plain') are the fertile lowlands that extend across c. 900,000 km² between latitudes 28°-39°S and longitudes 50°-65°W. This area encompasses the southernmost part of Brazil, the whole of Uruguay and the central-eastern part of Argentina. These vast plains are only interrupted by a few low mountain ranges (the highest mountains reach 1300 m, in Sierra de la Ventana, Argentina). The climate is mild with precipitation of 600-1200 mm more or less evenly distributed through the year. The soils are very rich (CPD Undated).

Frequent fires ensure that only small plants such as grasses flourish and trees are exceptional. The dominant vegetation types are grassy prairie and grass-steppe in which numerous species of the Gramineae tribe Stipeae (Stipa and Piptochaetium) are particularly conspicuous (CPD Undated). Vegetation typically includes perennial grasses, forbs and Leguminosae. 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 (CPD Undated).

The climate of central Argentina and Uruguay (Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Rosario, Santa Fe, Mar Del Plata, Montevideo, Punta del Este, Colonia Sacremento), as this region is 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 (Papandrea, 2000).

Central Argentina (home to the capital Buenos Aires) boasts a successful agricultural business, with crops grown on the Pampas south and west of the capital (Papandrea, 2000). 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 (ie: modified of disturbed pampas) are particularly suceptible to flooding during heavy rainfall. In October 2001 an estimated 8.6 million acres of the pampas were flooded, with thousands of acres of fields and grazing lands being submerged. Buenos Aires reported nearly 250mm (9.84 inches) of rainfall during October which is more than double the normal amount (NCDC, 2001; Barlow et al. 2002).

References:

Barlow, M., Bell, M., Hopp, M., Kestin, T., Lyon, B., Seth, A. and Zubair L. 2002. Climate Impacts – January (http://iri.columbia.edu/climate/cid/Feb2002/impacts.html). IRI (International Research Institute for Climate Prediction). [Accessed 11 February 2005, from: http://iri.columbia.edu/climate/cid/Feb2002/impacts.html]

CPD. Undated. South America: Centres of Plant Diversity and Endemism: VIII. Southern Cone. Undated (http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/projects/cpd/sa/sa-viii.htm). [Accessed 11 February 2005, from: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/projects/cpd/sa/sa-viii.htm]

NCDC (National Climatic Data Center). 2001. Climate of 2001 - Annual Review Significant U.S. and Global Events (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2001/ann/events.html): Review of Global Events. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [Accessed 11 February 2005, from: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2001/ann/events.html]

Papandrea, B. 2000. Intellicast’s Climate Guide to South America (http://www.intellicast.com/DrDewpoint/Library/1187/). WSI/INTELLICAST. [Accessed 11 February 2005, from: http://www.intellicast.com/DrDewpoint/Library/1187/]

There is a place called Pampa in Kerala, India. Pampa is also the name of a river flowing at the foothills of Sabarimala.