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Pantanal Conservation Area
| Site number: | 999 |
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| Type of site: | Natural | |
| Date of Inscription: | 2000 | |
| Location: | South America, Brazil, Southwest-State of Mato Grosso, Northwest-State of Mato Grosso do Sul | |
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| Description: | Consisting of a cluster of four protected areas, the Pantanal Conservation Complex totals an area of 187,818 ha. The site is one of the world's largest freshwater wetland ecosystems, and is situated in the western central area of Brazil at the south-west corner of the State of Mato Grosso, in total making up 1.3% of Brazil's Pantanal region. Located within the area are the headwaters of the region's two major river systems, the Cuiabá and the Paraguay rivers, each of which represents a spectacular abundance, as well as diversity, of vegetation and animal life. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. | |
| The Pantanal is the world’s largest wetland area, a flat landscape, with gently sloping and meandering rivers. The region, whose name derives from the Portuguese word “pântano” (meaning “swamp” or “marsh” ), is situated in South America, mostly within the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. There are also small portions in Bolivia and Paraguay. In total, the Pantanal covers about 150,000 square kilometers (58,000 sq mi). The Pantanal floods during the wet season, submerging over 80% of the area, and nurturing the world's richest collection of aquatic plants. It is thought to be the world’s most dense flora and fauna ecosystem. It is often overshadowed by the Amazon Rainforest, partly because of its proximity, but is just as vital and interesting a part of the neotropic. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. | ||
| Source: | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/999 | |
| Reference: | 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page. | |