The Pampas (from the Quechua : pampa , meaning "plain"), also known as the Pampas Plain , are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than 1,200,000 square kilometres (460,000 sq mi) and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires , La Pampa , Santa Fe , Entre Ríos , and Córdoba ; all of Uruguay ; and Brazil 's southernmost state , Rio Grande do Sul . The vast plains are a natural region , interrupted only by the low Ventana and Tandil hills, near Bahía Blanca and Tandil (Argentina), with a height of 1,300 m (4,265 ft) and 500 m (1,640 ft), respectively.
31-750: [REDACTED] Cuchillas (low hills covered by grasslands) in the Pampas , a region of subtropical and temperate grasslands in South America . Cuchilla (plural: cuchillas ), Spanish for blade or hill covered by grasslands (in the Pampas of Uruguay and Argentina ) may refer to: Cuchilla Alta , a seaside resort in Canelones in Montevideo in Uruguay Cuchilla de Caraguatá ,
62-570: A Cwa tendency (drier winters) in the northwestern edge); a cold semi-arid climate ( BSk ) on the southern and western fringes (like San Luis Province , western La Pampa Province and southern Buenos Aires Province); and an oceanic climate ( Cfb ) in the southeastern part (in the localities of Mar del Plata , Necochea , Tandil and the Sierra de la Ventana mountains, Argentina). Summer temperatures are more uniform than winter temperatures, generally ranging from 28 to 33 °C (82 to 91 °F) during
93-915: A range of hills in Uruguay Cuchilla Grande Inferior , a hill range in Uruguay Cuchilla Grande , a hill range in Uruguay Cuchillas del Toa , a biosphere reserve in Cuba Cuchillas, Corozal, Puerto Rico , a barrio in Puerto Rico Cuchillas, Moca, Puerto Rico , a barrio in Puerto Rico Cuchillas, Morovis, Puerto Rico , a barrio in Puerto Rico Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
124-518: Is temperate, with precipitation of 600 to 1,200 mm (23.6 to 47.2 in) that is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year, making the soils appropriate for agriculture . The area is also one of the distinct physiography provinces of the larger Paraná – Paraguay plain division. It is considered that the limit of the Pampas plain is to the north with the Atlantic Forest and
155-485: Is warmer than fall in most areas (especially in the west) but significantly colder along the Atlantic. Violent storms are more common as well as wide temperature variations: days of 35 °C (95 °F) can give way to nights of under 5 °C (41 °F) or even frost, all within only a few days. Precipitation ranges from 1,400 millimetres (55 in) in the northeast to about 400 millimetres (16 in) or less in
186-674: The Great Chaco Plain , to the west with the Pampas Mountains and the Cuyo Region , and to the south with Patagonia . This region has generally low elevations, whose highest levels generally do not exceed 600 metres (2,000 ft) in altitude. The coastal areas and most of the Buenos Aires Province are predominantly plain (with some wetlands ) and the interior areas (mainly in the southern part of
217-650: The Guanaco have been extirpated completely from this habitat. Mammals that are still fairly present include Brazilian guinea pig , southern mountain cavy , coypu , Pampas fox , Geoffroy's cat , lesser grison , white-eared opossum , Molina's hog-nosed skunk , big lutrine opossum , big hairy armadillo and southern long-nosed armadillo . Bird species of the pampas are ruddy-headed goose , pampas meadowlark , hudsonian godwit , maguari stork , white-faced ibis , white-winged coot , southern screamer , dot-winged crake , curve-billed reedhaunter , burrowing owl and
248-553: The Pampas ecosystem. Bounded approximately by the Laguna del Monte, Guaminí at its northwestern end and the Atlantic Ocean to its southwest, the Sierra de la Ventana lies on a precambrian base formed around 2.2 billion years ago, and is interspersed with granite , granodiorite , and amphibole deposits. Characterized by its escarpments , this orography prevented the deposit of significant amounts of loess , and made
279-537: The Paraná River , and includes all of Uruguay, most of Entre Ríos and Corrientes provinces in Argentina, and the southern portion of Brazil's state of Rio Grande do Sul. The Humid Pampas include eastern Buenos Aires Province, and southern Entre Ríos Province. The Semiarid Pampas includes western Buenos Aires Province and adjacent portions of Santa Fe, Córdoba, and La Pampa provinces. The Pampas are bounded by
310-449: The 1840s but intensifying after the 1880s, European immigrants began to migrate to the Pampas, first as part of government-sponsored colonization schemes to settle the land and later as tenant farmers "working as either a sharecropper or as paid laborers for absentee landowners" in an attempt to make a living for themselves. However, many immigrants eventually moved to more permanent employment in cities, as industrialization picked up after
341-573: The 1930s. As a result, Argentina's history of immigration in Buenos Aires Province is typically associated with cities and urban life, unlike in Entre Ríos Province and Santa Fe Province, where European immigration took on a more rural profile. Sierra de la Ventana (mountains) The Sierra de la Ventana (also Sierras de Ventania ) is a mountain range in Buenos Aires Province , and one of only two located within
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#1732798191882372-626: The Beagle . The region's breezes and mild climate made it a tourist attraction beginning in the early part of the 20th century, and its principal early promoter was Ernesto Tornquist , a prominent rancher, banker and developer. The extension of the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway past the area led to the construction of the Club Hotel de la Ventana , a luxury casino and hotel, and the outpost of Villa Ventana,
403-696: The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay) have low ranges of hills (like Serras de Sudeste in Brazil and Cuchilla Grande in Uruguay). Low hills covered by grasslands are called coxilhas ( Portuguese pronunciation: [koˈʃiʎɐs] ) in Portuguese and cuchillas ( Spanish pronunciation: [kuˈtʃiʝas] ) in Spanish, and it is the most typical landscape of the countryside areas in
434-475: The Pampas south and west of Buenos Aires . Much of the area is also used for cattle , and more recently, to cultivate vineyards in the Buenos Aires wine region . The area is also used for farming honey using European honeybees . These farming regions are particularly susceptible to flooding during thunderstorms. The weather averages out to be 16 °C (60 °F) year-round in the Pampas. Starting in
465-500: The Pampas, but it is much more frequent in the southwest than around the Parana and Uruguay Rivers. Temperatures under −5 °C (23 °F) can occur everywhere, but values of −10 °C (14 °F) or lower are confined to the south and west. Snow almost never falls in the northernmost third and is rare and light elsewhere, except for exceptional events in which depths have reached 30 cm (12 in). Springs are very variable; it
496-517: The Pampas: Human activity has caused major changes to the wildlife of the Pampas. Most big or medium-sized species such as puma , rhea , Capybara , plains viscacha , maned wolf , marsh deer and Pampas deer have lost their habitats especially due to the spread of agriculture and ranching , and are only present in very few relicts of the pampas. Other species, such as the Jaguar and
527-432: The amount of rainy days is fairly constant. Very intense thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer, and it has among the most frequent lightning and highest convective cloud tops in the world. The severe thunderstorms produce intense hailstorms , both floods and flash floods , and the most consistently active tornado region outside the central and southeastern US. Climate charts for different locations of
558-524: The area the least propitious for agriculture within the Pampas; sunflower fields are common along the foot of the range. Its soils feature an A-AC-C horizonation , not unlike those found along the Appalachian range. Its climate is somewhat colder and drier than that prevailing in the surrounding Humid Pampas , though the range receives more rainfall than the Semi-arid Pampas located to
589-537: The day. However, most cities in the Pampas occasionally have high temperatures that push 38 °C (100 °F), as occurs when warm, dry, northerly winds blow from southern Brazil, northern Argentina or Paraguay . Autumn arrives gradually in March and peaks in April and May. In April, highs range from 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F) and lows from 9 to 13 °C (48 to 55 °F). The first frosts arrive in mid-April in
620-471: The drier Argentine Espinal grasslands, which form a semicircle around the north, west, and south of the Humid Pampas. Winters are cold to mild, and summers are hot 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
651-412: 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. Central Argentina boasts a successful agricultural business, with crops grown on
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#1732798191882682-537: The northern parts of the Pampas. The highest elevations of the Pampas region are found in the Sierra de la Ventana mountains , in the southern part of Buenos Aires Province, with 1,239 metres (4,065 ft) at the summit of Cerro Tres Picos . The climate of the Pampas is generally temperate, gradually giving way to a more humid subtropical climate in the north ( Cfa , according to the Köppen climate classification , with
713-422: The pampas are relicts of drier past climates. These explanations have been criticised as mono-causal. "Overall, we expect that low propagule pressure, abiotic stresses, biotic resistance, and a paucity of specific symbionts might have exerted a synergistic influence in slowing tree invasion rates ". The World Wildlife Fund divides the Pampas into three distinct ecoregions . The Uruguayan Savanna lies east of
744-449: The pristine pampas were treeless regions has been much debated. Perhaps the most commonly cited explanation is seasonal drought. A related hypothesis is that grass roots compete for water and exclude tree seedlings. The effect might be increased by heavy, clayed soils which limit tap root penetration. Other causes that have been proposed are fires set by indigenous peoples for land clearance; the existence of heavy-bodied herbivores; and that
775-511: The rhea. Invasive species include the European hare , wild boar and house sparrow . Most of the large mammals native to the Pampas became extinct as part of the end-Pleistocene extinction event of most large mammals across the Americas around 12,000 years ago. Notable former inhabitants of the Pampas include the giant elephant-sized ground sloth Megatherium americanum , along side
806-426: The sabertooth cat Smilodon populator . 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 because of gradients of water availability. Why
837-410: The smaller (though still large) ground sloths Mylodon , Glossotherium Lestodon and Catonyx , the rhinoceros like ungulate Toxodon , the camel-like Macrauchenia , the gomphothere (elephant-relative) Notiomastodon , the equines Equus neogeus and Hippidion , and the glyptodonts (car-sized relatives of armadillos) Glyptodon and Doedicurus , the bear Arctotherium and
868-450: The south and late May or early June in the north. Winters are generally mild, but cold waves often occur. Typical temperatures range from 12 to 19 °C (54 to 66 °F) during the day, and from 1 to 6 °C (34 to 43 °F) at night. With strong northerly winds, days of over 25 °C (77 °F) can be recorded almost everywhere, and during cold waves, high temperatures can be only 6 °C (43 °F). Frost occurs everywhere in
899-512: The southern and western edges. It is highly seasonal in the West, with some places recording averages of 120 millimetres (4.7 in) monthly in the summer, and only 20 millimetres (0.79 in) monthly in the winter. The eastern areas have small peaks in the fall and the spring, with relatively rainy summers and winters that are only slightly drier. However, where summer rain falls as short, heavy storms, winter rain falls mostly as cold drizzle, and so
930-494: The title Cuchillas . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cuchillas&oldid=1013903627 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Pampas The climate
961-411: The west. Sizable extensions of lacebark pines grow along the range, possibly introduced from Asia . Peppered by caves and grottoes, the range is relatively modest in height and extension, and exceeds 1000 m (3280 ft) at only six points. These peaks are: British naturalist Charles Darwin described his ascent of the Sierra de la Ventana range in the sixth chapter of his work The Voyage of