Pantanal declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO

The Pantanal is a vast sedimentary floodplain in the middle
of South America and is located less than 200 meters above sea level. The Pantanal is about the half the size of
France (230,000 sq km/ 88,000 sq miles). While the Paraguay River is the most important river flowing into this
ecosystem, about 170 other rivers flow into this basin,
including the São Lourenço, Cuiabá, Taquari, Miranda,
Negro, Bento Gomes, Aquidauana, Seputuba, Cabaçal, Jauru.
   


Together they form a spectacular hydrological network,
interrupted by innumerable lagoons and ponds rarely deeper than 2 meters. When the seasonal influx of waters arrives in October, the plain is turned into a sheet of water, making the Pantanal the world’s largest wetland.
   


While it doesn’t rain much in the Pantanal itself (rains vary between 1- 1.5 m annually) the influx of water is the result of drainage from upland areas and carries with it silt that nourishes the soil with nutrients, allowing a huge variety of wildlife to flourish.
   
The Pantanal is one of the best places in Latin America to see wildlife. For a place of its size the concentration of animal species one finds here is truly amazing.