CHACO PLAIN: RIVERS, FLORA, FAUNA AND SUBREGIONS - GEOGRAPHY - 2024

The Chaco plain is a large expanse of flat or slightly undulating land located in South America. This plain is commonly known as "the Great Chaco", a name that comes from the Quechua word chaku and which translates as "hunting territory", in reference to the wealth of fauna that exists in the region.

This geographical region extends through the territories of the Argentine Republic, Paraguay, Bolivia and a section of Mato Grosso located in the center of Brazil. The area of ​​the Chaco plain is approximately 1,144,520 km².

A large central part of the American continent is made up of plains located on plateaus 500 meters above sea level and others 200 meters below it, located in valleys.

Generally, these plains stand out for being large forested regions as in the case of the Gran Chaco, which extends along the largest area of ​​dry forest in the world, characterized by low altitude and horizontality. You may also be interested in seeing what the plains of Colombia are.

Rivers and hydrography of the Chaco plain

The Chaco plain is made up of an alluvial area. That is, it contains a channel and tends to be flooded.

The main channeled rivers in the region are the Bermejo and the Pilcomayo, although the Paraguay, Salado, Teuco, Paraná, Parapeti, Timane and Dulce rivers are also located in the territory.

The biodiversity present in the plain has its origin in the fluvial system between the riverbeds that are home to the region.

The set of forests and the humidity acquired by the area due to the water that runs through the great Chaco, form a favorable habitat for the diversity of species, enriching the flora and fauna of the place.

Flora and fauna

With regard to the flora, the Chaco plain is of a visual beauty to highlight. In its western part we can find a tropical forest made up of chañal, palo santo, algarrobo and quebracho.

The central part of the region, being the area with the most floods, is made up of swamps and estuaries, surrounded by large extensions of palm and quebracho forests.

The extensions adjacent to the Paraná and Paraguay rivers are the ones with the highest humidity in the Chaco plain and, therefore, their scenery is highlighted by jungle images and grasslands. Finally, the southern area is characterized by wetlands and alfalfa and vegetable crops.

In what corresponds to the fauna of the region, you can find a wide diversity of species such as: aguará-guazú or big fox; water-poop or washing bear; capybara; deer of the pampas; anteater; jaguar or American tiger; cougar or american lion; overa weasel; land and aquatic turtles; rattlesnake; coral; rattlesnake; yacaré; red eagle; ñacurutú; rhea or American ostrich.

In the waters of the rivers that comprise the channels of the Chaco plain, we can find a great variety of fish such as bogas; yellow; golden; paties; silversides; surubíes; shad; pacúes; mojarras and armed, among others.

Subregions

The Chaco plain is the second largest ecosystem in South America after the Amazon. And it is divided from north to south in: Chaco Boreal; Central Chaco and Austral Chaco.

Boreal chaco

It is the most hyperborean area of ​​the Chaco plain. It is bounded to the south by the Pilcomayo River, which divides it from the central Chaco.

To the west, the limits are marked by the Yungas, which are extensive regions of mountainous forests and jungles located along the Andes mountain range. Finally, to the east, it is delimited by the Paraguay River.

The countries that share this section of the great Chaco are Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, while Argentina does not have territory in this northern zone.

The relief of the boreal Chaco is horizontal with some slopes that, due to the rains and floods, generate areas of estuaries or wetlands.

Central Chaco

The central section of the Chaco is limited to the south by the old bed of the Bermejo and Teuco rivers. This channel is called Ypitá, which in the Guaraní language means “red water”.

The Guarani are native South American peoples, generally located in Paraguay, but also in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and northern Uruguay.

Later, towards the north, they separate it from the Boreal Chaco, tectonic zones in which the course of the Pilcomayo River descends, forming the Estrella baths and some estuaries.

This region of the plain has the same geographical characteristics as the rest of the Gran Chaco. The horizontality, the forests and the jungles predominate and it is always contoured towards the eastern part by areas of swamps and estuaries, due to the course of its rivers.

It has a bioclimatic landscape with forests or jungles in a gallery, that is, the formation of vegetation on the banks of a river or lagoon. The Central Chaco is also called by these names: Llanos de Andrés Manso, Yapizlaga, Tierras de Gulgoritotá or Chaco Gualamba.

The thermal amplitudes in this region are important between day and night and vary according to the seasons of the year. Temperatures can range from 10 degrees Celsius to a maximum of 55 ° C.

Southern Chaco

It has an area of ​​approximately 399,100km2. It is the southernmost sector of the Chaco plain. The entire territorial extension of this subregion is completely within the Argentine Republic.

It is made up of the provinces of Chaco, Santiago del Estero, the east of Salta and Formosa, half of the province of Santa Fe and the northeast of the province of Córdoba.

The natural limit of the Southern Chaco to the north is given by the already named Ypitá or old Bermejo riverbed. For its eastern part, the Paraná River limits the Chaco plain of Mesopotamia Argentina. Then, to the west, it is delimited by the Pampean and Sub-Andean mountain ranges.

Again, as we describe in the relief of the previous subregions, the southern chaco is not the exception: it has a flat territory, with jungles and forests.

The rivers that flow through the southern area of ​​the Gran Chaco are: Paraná River, Bermejo, Salado del Norte, Dulce River, Primero River and Segundo River.

References

1. Napamalo: The Giant Anteater of the Gran Chaco, 2003.
2. Conservation ecology of armadillos in the Chaco region of Argentina, 1: 16-17, Edentata, 1994.
3. Great Chaco. Recovered from thefreedictionary.com.
4. gran-chaco.org
5. Great South American Chaco. Recovered from pueblosoriginario.com.
6. Chaco region. Recovered from todo-argentina.net.