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48-473: 17°02′S 64°32′W  /  17.033°S 64.533°W  / -17.033; -64.533 This Santa Cruz Department location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Bolivia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia) Santa Cruz ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˌsanta ˈkɾus] )

96-704: A local NGO, on average, 1,130 ha (2,800 acres) are cleared per day. The soy plantations not only eliminate the forest, but also other types of agriculture. Indigenous communities are losing their land to agribusinesses. Since 2007, a law is supposed to regulate and control the cutting of timber in the Gran Chaco, but illegal logging continues. Among the aggressive investors in the Paraguayan Gran Chaco are U.S.-based agribusinesses Cargill Inc. , Bunge Ltd. , and Archer Daniels Midland Co. A 2017 assessment found that 176,715 km , or 22%, of

144-679: A notable exception. Between 2000 and 2019, it was estimated that the Dry Chaco forest cover decreased by 20.2%, including territory in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, with the latter showing the most dramatic land cover change. Two factors may substantially change the Chaco in the near future: low land valuations and the region's suitability to grow fuel crops . Suitability for the cultivation of Jatropha has been proven. Sweet sorghum as an ethanol plant may prove viable, too, since sorghum

192-414: A population of 3,115,386 , making it the most populated department. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra . The department is one of the wealthiest departments in Bolivia, with huge reserves of natural gas. Besides, it has experienced the highest increase of economic growth during the last 50 years in Bolivia and South America. According to the current Constitution , the highest authority in

240-428: A semiarid to semihumid climate (600–1300 mm annual rainfall) with a six-month dry season and sufficient fresh groundwater restricted to roughly one-third of the region, two-thirds being without groundwater or with groundwater of high salinity. Soils are generally erosion-prone once the forest has been cleared. In the central and northern Paraguay Chaco, occasional dust storms have caused major topsoil loss. The Chaco

288-459: A shortage of the fuel after a lack of investment reduced output. The processing plants would be built in Santa Cruz and each would produce about 200 tons of liquefied petroleum gas a day. The plants would help turn a deficit of gas into a “surplus”. In July 2004, the people voted in a nationwide referendum to allow for regulated exportation of the gas. The department also hosts El Mutún ,

336-419: A slightly shorter subcanopy made up of several species from the family Fabaceae, as well as several arboreal cacti species that distinguish this area of the Chaco. There is a scrub-like shrub and herbaceous understory. On sandy soils, the thick woodlands turn into savannas where the aforementioned species prevail, as well as species such as Jacaranda mimosifolia . The giant Stetsonia coryne , found throughout

384-601: A wealth of insects . The landscape is mostly flat and slopes at a 0.004-degree gradient to the east. This area is also one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the Parana-Paraguay Plain division. The areas more hospitable to development are along the Paraguay , Bermejo , and Pilcomayo Rivers . It is a great source of timber and tannin , which is derived from the native quebracho tree. Special tannin factories have been constructed there. The wood of

432-652: Is a traditional local crop for domestic and feedstock use. The feasibility of switchgrass is currently being studied by Argentina's Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria , as is the Karanda’y palm tree in the Paraguayan Chaco. While advancements in agriculture can bring some improvements in infrastructure and employment for the region, loss of habitat and virgin forest is substantial and will likely increase poverty . Paraguay, after having lost more than 90% of its Atlantic rainforest between 1975 and 2005,

480-428: Is increasing rapidly in the Santa Cruz area, where weather allows for two crops a year. In recent years, the discovery of natural gas in the department has led to plans for the development of a regional natural gas industry that is likely to boost the local economy. Bolivia's energy minister said two proposed liquefied petroleum gas plants may allow the country to boost supplies to Brazil and Argentina by 2010, easing

528-642: Is now losing its xerophytic forest (dry forests) in the Chaco at an annual rate of 220,000 hectares (540,000 acres) (2008). In mid-2009, a projected law, initiated by the Liberal Party , that would have outlawed deforestation in the Paraguayan Chaco altogether, "Deforestacion Zero en el Chaco" did not get a majority in the parliament. Deforestation in the Argentinian part of the Chaco amounted to an average of 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) per year between 2001 and 2007. According to Fundación Avina ,

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576-568: Is one of the Bolivian departments with the least indigenous population, and the one with the greatest mestizo and Creole identity. The first settlers of Santa Cruz were mainly Spaniards that accompanied Ñuflo de Chávez, as well as Guarani , and some Flemings , Portuguese , Germans and Italians working for the Spanish crown. Among the first settlers there were also Sephardic Jews recently converted to Christianity who were persecuted by

624-528: Is only found in the Argentinian Chaco. All of 60 species of Ctenomys are endemic to South America. The Chacoan peccary ( Catagonus wagneri ), locally known as tauga , is the largest of the three peccary species found in the area. This species was thought to be extinct by scientists until 1975, when it was recorded by Ralph Wetzel. Due to the climate of the Gran Chaco, herpetofauna are restricted to moist refugia in various places throughout

672-474: Is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia , occupying about one-third (33.74%) of the country's territory. With an area of 370,621 km (143,098 sq mi), it is slightly smaller than Japan or the US state of Montana . It is located in the eastern part of the country, sharing borders in the north and east with Brazil and with Paraguay in the south. In the 2024 census, it reported

720-560: Is very dry and sparsely vegetated. To the east, less arid conditions combined with favorable soil characteristics permit a seasonally dry higher-growth thorn tree forest, and further east still higher rainfall combined with improperly drained lowland soils result in a somewhat swampy plain called the Bajo Chaco (Lower Chaco), sometimes known as Chaco Húmedo ( Humid Chaco ). It has a more open savanna vegetation consisting of palm trees, quebracho trees , and tropical high-grass areas, with

768-436: Is warm and tropical most of the year. Winters are short and last only 2–3 months but can get very cold very suddenly. "Surazos" (southerly winds that blow in from Argentina) can drop the temperature by as much as 30 degrees overnight. This extreme cold lasts only a few days at a time and the beautiful, sub-tropical Santa Cruz is pleasant throughout most of the year. Here the climate varies by geographical zone: temperate to cold in

816-1030: The Chaco Austral or Southern Chaco, south of the Bermejo River and inside Argentinian territory, blending into the Pampa region in its southernmost end; the Chaco Central or Central Chaco between the Bermejo and the Pilcomayo River to the north, also now in Argentinian territory; and the Chaco Boreal or Northern Chaco, north of the Pilcomayo up to the Brazilian Pantanal, inside Paraguayan territory and sharing some area with Bolivia. Locals sometimes divide it today by

864-593: The Inquisition in Spain. Santa Cruz has a multicultural population: 57% are Mestizos with both Indigenous Amazonian and European ascendants, 30% are Natives ( Chiquitano , Chane , Ayoreo , as well as Quechua and Aymara internal migrants from other departments.) and 13% are Whites of European descent , of whom about a quarter are so-called "Russian" Mennonites (see Mennonites in Bolivia ) of German tradition, language and descent. At 416 meters above sea level, it

912-470: The palo santo from the Central Chaco is the source of oil of guaiac (a fragrance for soap ). Paraguay also cultivates mate in the lower part of the Chaco. Large tracts of the central and northern Chaco have high soil fertility , sandy alluvial soils with elevated levels of phosphorus , and a topography that is favorable for agricultural development. Other aspects are challenging for farming:

960-692: The 1960s, the Paraguayan authorities constructed the Trans-Chaco Highway and the Argentine National Highway Directorate, National Routes 16 and 81, in an effort to encourage access and development. All three highways extend about 700 km (430 mi) from east to west and are now completely paved, as is a network of nine Brazilian highways in Mato Grosso do Sul state. The Gran Chaco has some of

1008-452: The 409 bird species that are resident or breed in the Gran Chaco; 252 of these Chaco species are endemic to South America. The Chaco is one of South America's last agricultural frontiers. Very sparsely populated and lacking sufficient all-weather roads and basic infrastructure (the Argentinian part is more developed than the Paraguayan or Bolivian part), it has long been too remote for crop planting. The central Chaco's Mennonite colonies are

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1056-678: The Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul , where it is connected with the Pantanal region. This land is sometimes called the Chaco Plain . The name Chaco comes from a word in Quechua , an indigenous language from the Andes and highlands of South America. The Quechua word chaqu meaning "hunting land" comes probably from the rich variety of animal life present throughout

1104-713: The Gran Chaco, while Paraguay ignored it. Bolivia sought the Paraguay River for shipping oil out into the sea (it had become a land-locked country after the loss of its Pacific coast in the War of the Pacific ), and Paraguay claimed ownership of the land. This became the backdrop to the Gran Chaco War (1932–1935) between Paraguay and Bolivia over supposed oil in the Chaco Boreal (the aforementioned region north of

1152-659: The Pilcomayo River and to the west of the Paraguay River). Eventually, Argentine Foreign Minister Carlos Saavedra Lamas mediated a ceasefire and subsequent treaty signed in 1938, which gave Paraguay three-quarters of the Chaco Boreal and gave Bolivia a corridor to the Paraguay River with the ability to use the Puerto Casado and the right to construct their own port. No oil was found in the region until 2012 when Paraguayan President Federico Franco announced

1200-665: The area, such as the Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana , allow for seasonally flooded semievergreen gallery forests that hold riparian species such as Tessaria integrifolia and Salix humboldtiana . Other seasonally flooded ecosystems of this area include palm-dominated ( Copernicia alba ) savannas with a bunch grass -dominated herbaceous layer. To the west, in the Semiarid/Arid Chaco, medium-sized forests consists of white quebracho ( Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco ) and red quebracho ( Schinopsis lorentzii ) with

1248-423: The chaco. Rotting logs, debris piles, old housing settlement, wells, and seasonal farm ponds are examples of such refugia. The black-legged seriema ( Chunga burmeisteri ), blue-crowned parakeet ( Aratinga acuticadauta ), Picui ground dove ( Columbina picui ), guira cuckoo ( Guira guira ), little thornbird ( Phacellodomus sibilatrix ), and many-colored Chaco finch ( Saltaitricula multicolor ) are notable of

1296-590: The department lies with the governor . The former figure of prefect was appointed by the President of the Republic till 2005, when the prefect for the first time was elected by popular vote to serve for a five-year term. In 2010 the first governor was elected according to the implementation of autonomy after a struggle for almost a decade by the people of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz also has a Departmental Assembly (Asamblea Departamental), which derives but differs from

1344-682: The discovery of oil in the area of the Pirity river. Mennonites immigrated into the Paraguayan part of the region from Canada in the 1920s; more came from the USSR in the 1930s and immediately following World War II. These immigrants created some of the largest and most prosperous municipalities in the deep Gran Chaco. The region is home to over 9 million people, divided about evenly among Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil, and including around 100,000 in Paraguay. The area remains relatively underdeveloped, In

1392-402: The eastern Humid Chaco, including jaguars, howler monkeys, peccaries, deer, and tapirs. Edentate species, including anteaters and armadillos, are readily seen here, as well. Being home to at least 10 species, the Argentinian Chaco is the location of the peak diversity for the armadillo, including species such as the nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus ), whose range extends north to

1440-737: The eastern zone of the Humid Chaco , mature forests transition from the wet forests of southern Brazil. These woodlands are dominated by canopy trees such as Handroanthus impetiginosus and characterized by frequent lianas and epiphytes . This declines to seasonally flooded forests, at lower elevations, that are dominated by Schinopsis spp., a common plains tree genus often harvested for its tannin content and dense wood. The understory comprises bromeliad and cactus species, as well as hardy shrubs such as Schinus fasciculata . These lower areas lack lianas, but have abundant epiphytic species such as Tillandsia . The river systems that flow through

1488-857: The ecoregion is in protected areas. In September 1995, the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area was established in an area of the Chaco in Bolivia. It is administered and was established solely by the indigenous peoples , including the Izoceño Guaraní , the Ayoreode , and the Chiquitano . Other protected areas include Defensores del Chaco National Park and Tinfunqué National Park in Paraguay, and Copo National Park and El Impenetrable National Park in Argentina. The following Argentine provinces, Bolivian and Paraguayan departments, and Brazilian states lie in

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1536-509: The entire region. The Gran Chaco is about 647,500 km (250,000 sq mi) in size, though estimates differ. It is located west of the Paraguay River and east of the Andes , and is mostly an alluvial sedimentary plain shared among Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. It stretches from about 17 to 33°S latitude and between 65 and 60°W longitude, though estimates differ. Historically, the Chaco has been divided in three main parts:

1584-620: The flat Llanos Chiquitanos areas and beyond these the Serranías Chiquitanas ranges. In the far east the departments have small parts of the huge Pantanal wetland. The rivers of Santa Cruz are part of any of two basins: the Amazon Basin (north) and the Plate Basin (south). The main rivers in the northern basin are river Iténez , making the border with Brazil, Río Grande , river Piraí and river Itonomas . In

1632-562: The highest temperatures on the continent. It has high biodiversity , containing around 3,400 plant species, 500 birds, 150 mammals, and 220 reptiles and amphibians. The floral characteristics of the Gran Chaco are varied given the large geographical span of the region. The dominant vegetative structure is xerophytic deciduous forests with multiple layers, including a canopy (trees) , subcanopy, shrub layer , and herbaceous layer . Ecosystems include riverine forests , wetlands , savannas , and cactus stands, as well. At higher elevations of

1680-457: The later stages of the Chaco war between Paraguay and Bolivia, as the Paraguayan army approached Santa Cruz department, local nationalists backed by a Paraguay-based independence movement sought to create a separate independent state in Santa Cruz department. A referendum on autonomy was held in Santa Cruz department in 2008 . Eastern departments in Bolivia, including Santa Cruz, have majority of

1728-410: The natural gas reserves. Bolivian president Evo Morales was planning to introduce legislation to tackle the poverty in the country using tax revenues from richer departments like Santa Cruz. Additionally, Morales's attempts to change the constitution were opposed by the opposition governors who run five of Bolivia's nine regions. 85.6 percent voted in favour of autonomy. The Bolivian government considered

1776-490: The political borders, giving rise to the terms Argentinian Chaco, Paraguayan Chaco, and Bolivian Chaco. (Inside Paraguay, people sometimes use the expression Central Chaco for the area roughly in the middle of the Chaco Boreal, where Mennonite colonies are established.) The Chaco Boreal may be divided in two: closer to the mountains in the west, the Alto Chaco (Upper Chaco), sometimes known as Chaco Seco (or Dry Chaco),

1824-658: The predominant species. Other notable species include Bougainvillea stipitata , and several species from the Fabaceae. The Paraguayan uplands have other woodland slope ecosystems, notably, those dominated by Anadenanthera colubrina on moist slopes. Both of these upland systems, as well as numerous other Gran Chaco areas, are rich with endemism . Faunal diversity in the Gran Chaco is also high. The Gran Chaco has around 3,400 plant, 500 bird, 150 mammal, and 220 reptile and amphibian species. Animals typically associated with tropical and subtropical forests are often found throughout

1872-578: The previous Departmental Council (Consejo Departamental). It is a state legislature with limited legislation powers, being able to make laws in certain subjects in exclusivity and in some others in concurrence with the state legislative branch. The department covers a vast expanse of territory in eastern Bolivia, much of it rainforests , extending from the Andes to the border with Brazil . The department's economy depends largely on agriculture , with sugar , cotton , soybeans and rice being grown. The amount of land cultivated by modern farming techniques

1920-457: The referendum illegal. 18°25′05″S 62°20′42″W  /  18.418°S 62.345°W  / -18.418; -62.345 Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia , western Paraguay , northern Argentina , and a portion of

1968-487: The southern US, and the southern three-banded armadillo ( Tolypeutes matacus ). The pink fairy armadillo ( Chlamyphrous truncatus ), is found nowhere else in the world. The giant armadillo ( Priodontes maximus ), while not found in the eastern Humid Chaco, can be seen in the drier Arid Chaco of the west. Some other notable endemics of the region include the San Luis tuco-tuco ( Ctenomys pontifex ). This small rodent

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2016-481: The southern basin, the main rivers are river Paraguay and its tributaries, including river Negro . The main lakes are lake Mandioré , Uberaba, lake La Gaiba , Laguna de Marfil , Concepción and lake San Jorge . The rivers by length within Santa Cruz: 8 out of 48 km of the Paraguay not part of the Brazilian border. The main lakes by their area within the department: The department of Santa Cruz

2064-467: The total world reserves of iron ore: 800 billion tons of crude ore containing more than 230 billion tons of iron. Santa Cruz Department is the largest of the Bolivian departments and covers a wide and diverse area. In the west lies a series of temperate Sub-Andean ranges and valleys while to the north and south lies two different lowlands areas; the Beni and Chaco lowlands respectively. To the northeast lies

2112-464: The western Semiarid/Arid region becomes very conspicuous in these sandy savannas. Various upland systems of plant associations occur throughout the Gran Chaco. The Highlands of the Argentinian Chaco are made up of, on the dry, sunny side (up to 1800m), Schinopsis haenkeana woodlands. The cooler side of the uplands hosts Zanthoxylum coco (locally referred to as Fagara coco ) and Schinus molleoides (locally referred to as Lithrea molleoides ) as

2160-399: The western sierras and warm to hot and humid as one descends into the extensive plains. The department of Santa Cruz regularly experiences devastating forest fires, often started by landowners who want to burn forests to create new agricultural land. This practice puts a great strain on the rich biodiversity of the country. The Department of Santa Cruz is divided into 15 provinces. During

2208-873: The world's second largest iron ore reserve (after Carajás in Brazil) and largest magnesium deposits are also located there. Located in the Germán Busch Province in the Santa Cruz Department of Bolivia, near Puerto Suárez, El Mutún extends across the border into Brazil, where it is called the Serrania de Jacadigo. Also known as the "Serrania Mutún", it has an area of about 75 square kilometers. Its estimated reserves are about 40.205 billion tons of iron ore of 50% iron, mainly in hematite and magnetite form, and in lesser quantities in siderite and manganese minerals. This can be compared with an estimate of

2256-538: Was occupied by nomadic peoples, notably the various groups making up the Guaycuru , who resisted Spanish control of the Chaco, often with success, from the 16th until the early 20th centuries. Prior to national independence of the nations that compose the Chaco, the entire area was a separate colonial region named by the Spaniards as Chiquitos . The Gran Chaco had been a disputed territory since 1810. Officially, it

2304-548: Was supposed to be part of Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, although a bigger land portion west of the Paraguay River had belonged to Paraguay since its independence. Argentina claimed territories north of the Bermejo River until Paraguay's defeat in the War of the Triple Alliance in 1870 established its current border with Argentina. Over the next few decades, Bolivia began to push the natives out and settle in

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