The Pantanal Paraguayo
| Pantanal Conservation Area | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 |
|
| Location | 80 to 150 m (260 to 490 ft) above sea level |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, ix, x |
| Reference | 999 |
| UNESCO region | Latin America |
| Coordinates | 18°00′S 56°30′W / 18.000°S 56.500°WCoordinates: 18°00′S 56°30′W / 18.000°S 56.500°W |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
Brazil (62%), Bolivia (20%) and Paraguay (18%)
The Pantanal (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɐ̃taˈnaw]) is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay. It sprawls over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometres (54,000 and 75,000 sq mi). Various subregional ecosystems exist, each with distinct hydrological, geological and ecological characteristics; up to 12 of them have been defined (RADAMBRASIL 1982).
Roughly 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing an astonishing biologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping to support a dense array of animal species.
The name "Pantanal" comes from the Portuguese word pântano, meaning wetland, bog, swamp, quagmire or marsh. By comparison, the Brazilian highlands are locally referred to as the planalto, plateau or, literally, high plain.
The Pantanal is a huge, gently-sloped basin that receives runoff from the upland areas (the Planalto highlands) and slowly releases the water through the Paraguay River and tributaries. 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 area.
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