Pampa
Un article de Wikivisual, l'encyclopédie libre.
- Pour les articles homonymes, voir Pampa (homonymie). Image:Disambig.svg
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La pampa (en quechua « plaine ») est un milieu naturel, une plaine fertile recouverte d'herbe et dépourvue d'arbres que l'on retrouve entre autres en Amérique du Sud, où elle couvre une zone de près de 750 000 km² incluant les provinces argentines de Buenos Aires, La pampa, Santa Fe, Cordoba, l'Uruguay et le Rio Grande do Sul au Brésil. Ces vastes plaines sont seulement interrompues par la cordillère Ventiana près de Bahia Blanca (Argentine) à 1300 m de hauteur. Le climat est pluvieux de 600 à 1200 mm par an tout au long de l'année, faisant des sols appropriés à l'agriculture.
Frequent fires ensure that only small plants such as grasses flourish and trees are exceptional. 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 due to gradients of water availability. The Pampas are home to a wide variety of native species, although there is an almost absolute lack of native trees, except along main watercourses.
Its climate, as in the mid-latitudes, is naturally changeable. Winters are cool to mild and summers are very warm 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 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. Snow is extremely rare near the coast.
Central Argentina boasts a successful agricultural business, with crops grown on the Pampas south and west of the Buenos Aires. In particular, the harvested area of soybeans is on pace to set a record, according to the Food and Agricultural Service. Much of the area is also used for grazing cattle. These farming regions (i.e., modified of disturbed Pampas) are particularly susceptible to flooding during heavy rainfall. In October 2001 an estimated 35,000 km² of the pampas were flooded. Buenos Aires reported nearly 250 mm (9.84 in) of rainfall during that month, which is more than double the normal amount.
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en:Pampa es:Pampa (Sudamérica) eo:Pampo fa:پامپ he:פמפס it:Pampa nl:Pampa no:Pampa pl:Pampa (formacja roślinna) pt:Pampa ru:Пампасы fi:Pampa
