The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

tropical dry broadleaf forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

of the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

basin, divided among eastern

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, western

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, northern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and a portion of the Brazilian states of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

and

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...

, where it is connected with the

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest Flooded grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but i ...

region. This land is sometimes called the Chaco Plain. The ecoregion has an estimated population of 3,985,000.

Toponymy

The name Chaco comes from the

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

word meaning "hunting land", an indigenous language from the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

and highlands of South America, and comes probably from the rich variety of animal life present throughout the entire region.

Geography

The Gran Chaco is about 647,500km² (250,000 sq mi) in size, though estimates differ. It is located west of the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (''Ysyry Paraguái'' in Guarani language, Guarani, ''Rio Paraguai'' in Portuguese language, Portuguese, ''Río Paraguay'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bol ...

and east of the

, 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: the ''Chaco Austral'' or Southern Chaco, south of the

Bermejo River The Bermejo River ( Spanish, Río Bermejo) is a river in South America that flows from Bolivia to the Paraguay River in Argentina. The river is generally called Bermejo in spite of its different names along its way, but it also has its own Nati ...

and inside Argentinian territory, blending into the

Pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...

region in its southernmost end; the ''Chaco Central'' or Central Chaco between the Bermejo and the

Pilcomayo River Pilcomayo (in Hispanicized spelling) ( Quechua Pillkumayu or Pillku Mayu, ''pillku'' red, ''mayu'' river, "red river", Guarani Ysyry Araguay ) is a river in central South America. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the Paraguay Riv ...

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 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 Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

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), 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 The Humid Chaco ( Spanish: ''Chaco Húmedo'' or ''Chaco Oriental'') is a tropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in South America. It lies in the basin of the Paraná River, covering portions of central Paraguay and northern Arge ...

). It has a more open

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

vegetation consisting of palm trees, quebracho trees, and tropical high-grass areas, with a wealth of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s. 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 Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

provinces of the Parana-Paraguay Plain division. The areas more hospitable to development are along the

, Bermejo, and

s. It is a great source of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

, which is derived from the native ''quebracho'' tree. Special tannin factories have been constructed there. The wood of the palo santo from the Central Chaco is the source of

oil of guaiac Oil of guaiac is a fragrance ingredient used in soap and perfumery. Despite its name it does not come from the '' Guaiacum'' tree, but from the palo santo tree (''Bulnesia sarmientoi''). Oil of guaiac is produced through steam distillation of a m ...

(a fragrance for

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

). Paraguay also cultivates

mate Mate may refer to: Science * Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in: ** Mate choice, intersexual selection *** Mate choice in humans ** Mating * Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins Pers ...

in the lower part of the Chaco. Large tracts of the central and northern Chaco have high

soil fertility Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.

, sandy alluvial soils with elevated levels of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

, and a topography that is favorable for agricultural development. Other aspects are challenging for farming: a semiarid to semihumid climate (600–1300mm 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.

History

The Chaco was occupied by nomadic peoples, notably the various groups making up the

Guaycuru Guaycuru or Guaykuru is a generic term for several ethnic groups indigenous to the Gran Chaco region of South America, speaking related Guaicuruan languages. In the 16th century, the time of first contact with Spanish explorers and colonists, ...

, 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 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 The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

in 1870 established its current border with Argentina. Over the next few decades, Bolivia began to push the natives out and settle in 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 The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

), 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 the Pilcomayo River and to the west of the Paraguay River). Eventually, Argentine Foreign Minister

Carlos Saavedra Lamas Carlos Saavedra Lamas (November 1, 1878 – May 5, 1959) was an Argentine academic and politician, and in 1936, the first Latin American Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, Saavedra Lamas was a descendant of an early Ar ...

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 Luis Federico Franco Gómez (born 24 July 1962) is a Paraguayan politician who was President of Paraguay from June 2012 until August 2013. A member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), he was elected as Vice President of Paraguay in th ...

announced the discovery of oil in the area of the Pirity river.

s immigrated into the Paraguayan part of the region from Canada in the 1920s; more came from the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 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 from east to west and are now completely paved, as is a network of nine Brazilian highways in Mato Grosso do Sul state.

Flora

The Gran Chaco has some of the highest temperatures on the continent. It has high

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, 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) In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, the canopy is the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and includ ...

, subcanopy,

shrub layer In ecology, stratification refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers. It classifies the layers (sing. ''stratum'', pl. ''strata'') of vegetation largely according to the different heights to which their p ...

, and

herbaceous layer In ecology, stratification refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers. It classifies the layers (sing. ''stratum'', pl. ''strata'') of vegetation largely according to the different heights to which their p ...

. Ecosystems include

riverine forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink, or reservoir. Due to the broad nature of the definition, riparian woodla ...

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

savannas A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient li ...

, and cactus stands, as well. At higher elevations of the eastern zone of the

, mature forests transition from the wet forests of southern Brazil. These woodlands are dominated by canopy trees such as ''

Handroanthus impetiginosus ''Handroanthus impetiginosus'', the pink ipê, pink lapacho or pink trumpet tree, is a tree in the family Bignoniaceae, distributed throughout North, Central and South America, from northern Mexico south to northern Argentina. Along with all the ...

'' and characterized by frequent

lianas A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

and

epiphytes An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

. This declines to seasonally flooded forests, at lower elevations, that are dominated by ''

Schinopsis ''Schinopsis'' is a genus of South American trees in the family Anacardiaceae, also known by the common names quebracho, quebracho colorado and red quebracho. In Brazil it is known as ''baraúna'' or ''braúna''. Description The species within t ...

'' spp., a common plains tree genus often harvested for its

content and dense wood. The understory comprises bromeliad and cactus species, as well as hardy shrubs such as ''

Schinus fasciculata ''Schinus'' is a genus of flowering trees and tall shrubs in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as pepper trees. The Peruvian pepper tree (''Schinus molle'') is the source of the spice known as pink pepperc ...

''. These lower areas lack lianas, but have abundant epiphytic species such as ''

Tillandsia ''Tillandsia'' is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial plant, perennial flowering plants in the family (biology), family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of the Neotropical realm, Neotropics, from northe ...

''. The river systems that flow through the area, such as the

Rio Paraguay The Paraguay River (''Ysyry Paraguái'' in Guarani, ''Rio Paraguai'' in Portuguese, ''Río Paraguay'' in Spanish) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its ...

and

Rio Parana Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

, allow for seasonally flooded semievergreen

gallery forests A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

that hold riparian species such as '' Tessaria integrifolia'' and ''

Salix humboldtiana ''Salix humboldtiana'', called Humboldt's willow, is a tree species of willow native to North and South America, growing along watercourses. Some authorities consider it a synonym of ''Salix chilensis ''Salix chilensis'', the Chilean pencil wi ...

''. Other seasonally flooded ecosystems of this area include palm-dominated (''

Copernicia alba ''Copernicia alba'' is a South American species of palm tree, which is found in the Humid Chaco ecoregion in Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil (in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul) and Argentina (especially the province of Form ...

'') savannas with a

bunch grass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

-dominated herbaceous layer. To the west, in the Semiarid/Arid Chaco, medium-sized forests consists of white quebracho (''

Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco ''Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco'', commonly known as Quebracho blanco, kebrako, or white quebracho, is a South American tree species, native to Brazil, northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It must not be confused with other species ...

'') and red quebracho (''

Schinopsis lorentzii ''Schinopsis lorentzii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family ''Anacardiaceae''. It is a hardwood tree known as red quebracho, native of the Paraguayan subtropical area, which forms forests in Gran Chaco region of Argentina, in Paraguay ...

'') with 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 ''Jacaranda mimosifolia'' is a sub-tropical tree native to south-central South America that has been widely planted elsewhere because of its attractive and long-lasting Violet (color), violet-colored flowers. It is also known as the jacaranda, b ...

''. The giant ''

Stetsonia coryne ''Stetsonia coryne'', the toothpick cactus, is the sole species in the cactus genus ''Stetsonia''. ''Stetsonia coryne'' is native to arid regions of South America, where it grows to a height of tall. It contains mescaline and other alkaloids. ...

'', found throughout 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 ''Schinopsis haenkeana'' is a species of plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country f ...

'' woodlands. The cooler side of the uplands hosts ''

Zanthoxylum coco ''Zanthoxylum coco'' (also known as ''Fagara coco'') is an evergreen tree of the family Rutaceae, native to Argentina and Bolivia where it grows in the wild, mostly in spiniferous forests of the low mountain ranges of the western Chaco. It is c ...

'' (locally referred to as Fagara coco) and ''

Schinus molleoides ''Lithraea molleoides'' is a tree (2.5 and 8 m tall) that is native to South America, specially in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and the Cerrado vegetation of Brazil. Landscaping The plant is commonly considered as unsuitable to landscaping, as i ...

'' (locally referred to as ''

Lithrea molleoides ''Lithraea'' is a genus of three species of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. They are dioecious trees with poisonous sap that can induce contact derma ...

'') as 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 ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' (also known as vilca, huilco, huilca, wilco, willka, curupay, curupau, cebil, or angico) is a South American tree closely related to yopo, or ''Anadenanthera peregrina''. It grows to tall and the trunk is very thorn ...

'' on moist slopes. Both of these upland systems, as well as numerous other Gran Chaco areas, are rich with

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Fauna

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 the eastern Humid Chaco, including jaguars, howler monkeys, peccaries, deer, and tapirs. ''

Edentate Xenarthra (; from Ancient Greek wikt:ξένος, ξένος, xénos, "foreign, alien" + wikt:ἄρθρον, ἄρθρον, árthron, "joint") is a Order (biology), superorder and major clade of Placentalia, placental mammals native to the America ...

'' species, including anteaters and armadillos, are readily seen here, as well.Napamalo: The Giant Anteater of the Gran Chaco, 2003. 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 The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also called the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo native to North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America, making ...

(''Dasypus novemcinctus''), whose range extends north to the southern US, and the

southern three-banded armadillo The southern three-banded armadillo , also known as La Plata three-banded armadillo or Azara's domed armadillo, is an armadillo species from South America. It is found in parts of northern Argentina, southwestern Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, at ...

(''Tolypeutes matacus'').Conservation ecology of armadillos in the Chaco region of Argentina, 1: 16–17, Edentata, 1994. The

pink fairy armadillo The pink fairy armadillo (''Chlamyphorus truncatus'') is the smallest species of armadillo, first described by Richard Harlan in 1825. The pink fairy armadillo is long, and typically weighs about . This solitary, desert-adapted animal is ende ...

(''Chlamyphrous truncatus''), is found nowhere else in the world.Guiá de los Mamiferos Argentinos, 19840. The

giant armadillo The giant armadillo (''Priodontes maximus''), colloquially ''tatu-canastra'', ''tatou'', ''ocarro'' or ''tatú carreta'', is the largest living species of armadillo (although their extinct relatives, the Glyptodontidae, glyptodonts, were much l ...

(''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 is only found in the Argentinian Chaco. All of 60 species of '' Ctenomys'' are endemic to South America. The

Chacoan peccary The Chacoan peccary or ''tagua'' (''Catagonus wagneri'' or ''Parachoerus wagneri'') is the last extant species of the genus ''Catagonus''; it is a peccary found in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. Approximately 3,000 remain i ...

(''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.Catagonous, an "extinct" peccary, alive in Paraguay, 189:379–381, Science, 1975. Due to the climate of the Gran Chaco,

herpetofauna Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (incl ...

are restricted to moist refugia in various places throughout the chaco. Rotting logs, debris piles, old housing settlement, wells, and seasonal farm ponds are examples of such refugia.Ecological Notes on the Paraguayan Chaco Herpetofauna, 12(3), 433–435, Journal of Herpetology, 1978. The

black-legged seriema The black-legged seriema (''Chunga burmeisteri'') is one of two living species of seriemas in the family Cariamidae. It is found from southeastern Bolivia and northern Paraguay south into north-central Argentina. It is a large, mostly grey bi ...

(''Chunga burmeisteri''),

blue-crowned parakeet The blue-crowned parakeet, blue-crowned conure, or sharp-tailed conure (''Thectocercus acuticaudatus'') is a small green Neotropical parrot with a blue head and pale beak native to large parts of South America, from eastern Colombia to Curacao in ...

(''Aratinga acuticadauta''),

Picui ground dove The Picui ground dove or Picui dove (''Columbina picui'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of ...

(''Columbina picui''),

guira cuckoo The guira cuckoo, known in Spanish as the (''Guira guira'') is a species of Sociality, gregarious bird found widely in open and semi-open habitats of northeastern, eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northeastern Argent ...

(''Guira guira''),

little thornbird The little thornbird (''Phacellodomus sibilatrix'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bona ...

(''Phacellodomus sibilatrix''), and

many-colored Chaco finch The many-colored Chaco finch (''Saltatricula multicolor'') is a songbird found in or near dry woodland in south-central South America in Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. Evidence suggests it is a finch-like tanager. Description ''Sal ...

(''Saltaitricula multicolor'') are notable of the 409 bird species that are resident or breed in the Gran Chaco; 252 of these Chaco species are endemic to South America."A Zoogeographic Analysis Of The South American Chaco Avifauna", 154(3), 165–352, ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'', 1975.

Conservation issues

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 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 ''Jatropha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός (''iatros''), meaning "physician", and τροφή (''trophe''), meaning "nutrition", hence the common name ph ...

'' has been proven.

Sweet sorghum Sweet sorghum or sorgo is any of the many varieties of the sorghum grass whose stalks have a high sugar content. Sweet sorghum thrives better under drier and warmer conditions than many other crops and is grown primarily for forage, silage, an ...

as an ethanol plant may prove viable, too, since sorghum is a traditional local crop for domestic and feedstock use. The feasibility of

switchgrass ''Panicum virgatum'', commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55th parallel north, 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switch ...

is currently being studied by Argentina's

Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria The National Agricultural Technology Institute (), commonly known as INTA, is an Argentine federal organisation responsible for agriculture. INTA is an extension agency in charge of the generation, adaptation and diffusion of technologies, knowle ...

, 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 Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and virgin forest is substantial and will likely increase

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

. Paraguay, after having lost more than 90% of its Atlantic rainforest between 1975 and 2005, is now losing its xerophytic forest (dry forests) in the Chaco at an annual rate of (2008). In mid-2009, a projected law, initiated by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, that would have outlawed

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

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 per year between 2001 and 2007. According to

Fundación Avina Fundación Avina is a Latin American philanthropic foundation working towards sustainable development in Latin America by encouraging alliances between social and business leaders. The foundation is part of the Steering Group of the Foundations Pl ...

, a local NGO, on average, are cleared per day. The

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...

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 Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

continues. Among the aggressive investors in the Paraguayan Gran Chaco are U.S.-based agribusinesses

Cargill Inc. Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

, Bunge Ltd., and

Archer Daniels Midland The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 p ...

Co.

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 176,715km², or 22%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. In September 1995, the

Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area (''Parque Nacional y Area Natural de Manejo Integrado Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco)'' is the biggest national park in Bolivia and one of the largest in South America. It is a ...

was established in an area of the Chaco in Bolivia. It is administered and was established solely by the

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, including the Izoceño Guaraní, the

Ayoreode The Ayoreo (Ayoreode, Ayoréo, Ayoréode) are an indigenous people of the Gran Chaco. They live in an area surrounded by the Paraguay, Pilcomayo, Parapetí, and Grande Rivers, spanning both Bolivia and Paraguay. There are approximately 5,600 ...

, and the

Chiquitano The Chiquitano or Chiquitos are an indigenous people of Bolivia, with a small number also living in Brazil. The Chiquitano primarily live in the Chiquitania tropical savanna of Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, with a small number also living in ...

. Other protected areas include

Defensores del Chaco National Park Defensor (Latin, 'one who defends') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Defensor (comics), a Marvel character * Defensor (''Transformers''), a character in the media franchise People *Defensor, a monk, compiler of the early medieval an ...

and Tinfunqué National Park in Paraguay, and

Copo National Park Copo National Park () is a federal protected area in Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. Established on 22 November 2000, it houses a representative sample of the Dry Chaco biodiversity in average state of conservation. Located in the Cop ...

and

El Impenetrable National Park El Impenetrable National Park () is a national park in the Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided ...

in Argentina.

Administrative divisions in the Gran Chaco

The following Argentine provinces, Bolivian and Paraguayan departments, and Brazilian states lie in the Gran Chaco area, either entirely or in part.

Indigenous peoples

Abipón The Abipones (, singular ) were an Indigenous people of Argentina's Gran Chaco region, speakers of one of the Guaicuruan languages. They ceased to exist as an independent ethnic group in the early 19th century. A small number of survivors assim ...

, Argentina, historic group * Angaite (Angate), northwestern Paraguay *

Ayoreo The Ayoreo (Ayoreode, Ayoréo, Ayoréode) are an indigenous people of the Gran Chaco. They live in an area surrounded by the Paraguay, Pilcomayo, Parapetí, and Grande Rivers, spanning both Bolivia and Paraguay. There are approximately 5,600 ...

"Cultural Thesaurus."
''National Museum of the American Indian.'' (retrieved 18 February 2011) (Morotoco, Moro, Zamuco), Bolivia and Paraguay *

Chamacoco The Chamacoco people (Ishír) are an indigenous people of Paraguay. “''Now our territory is that of the company''”, a ''tomáraho'' man said, “''we live there but it isn’t ours; it does not belong to us and has become an enemy place that ...

(

Zamuko The Chamacoco people (Ishír) are an indigenous people of Paraguay. “''Now our territory is that of the company''”, a ''tomáraho'' man said, “''we live there but it isn’t ours; it does not belong to us and has become an enemy place that ...

), Paraguay *

Chané Chané is the collective name for the southernmost Arawakan-speaking peoples. They lived in the plains of the northern Gran Chaco and in the foothills of the Andes in Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina. The historical Chané are divided ...

, Argentina and Bolivia *

(Chiquito, Tarapecosi), eastern Bolivia * Chorote ( Choroti), Iyojwa'ja Chorote, Manjuy), Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay * Guana (Kaskihá), Paraguay *

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...

, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay ** Bolivian Guarani ***

Eastern Guarani Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

(Chiriguano), Bolivia *** Guarayo (East Bolivian Guarani) ** Chiripá (Tsiripá, Ava), Bolivia ** Pai Tavytera (Pai, Montese, Ava), Bolivia ** Tapieté (

Guaraní Ñandéva Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...

, Yanaigua), eastern Bolivia **

Yuqui The Yuqui are an indigenous people of Bolivia. They primarily live in the Santa Cruz and Cochabamba Departments of eastern Bolivia. Name "Yuqui" has been used by Spanish-speakers since the colonial period. A possibility is the word derived fro ...

(Bia), Bolivia *

Guaycuru peoples Guaycuru or Guaykuru is a generic term for several ethnic groups indigenous to the Gran Chaco region of South America, speaking related Guaicuruan languages. In the 16th century, the time of first contact with Spanish explorers and colonists ...

, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay **

Mbayá The Mbayá or Mbyá are an indigenous people of South America which formerly ranged on both sides of the Paraguay River, on the north and northwestern Paraguay frontier, eastern Bolivia, and in the adjacent province of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazi ...

(Caduveo), historic *** Kadiweu, Brazil **

Mocoví The Mocoví ( Mocoví: ''moqoit'') are an Indigenous people of the Gran Chaco region of South America. They speak the Mocoví language and are one of the ethnic groups belonging to the Guaycuru peoples. In the 2010 Argentine census, 22,439 peop ...

(Mocobí), Argentina **

Payaguá The Payaguá people, also called Evueví and Evebe, were an ethnic group of the Guaycuru peoples in the Northern Chaco of Paraguay. The Payaguá were a river tribe, living, hunting, fishing, and raiding on the Paraguay River. The name ''Pa ...

Pilagá fThe Pilagá (in Pilagá language, Pilagá language: ''pit'laxá'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous people of the Guaycuru peoples, Guaycuru group that inhabits the center of the province of Formosa Province, Formosa, in Arge ...

(Pilage Toba) ** Toba (Qom, Frentones), Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay * Kaiwá, Argentina and Brazil *

Lengua people The Enxet are an indigenous people of about 17,000 living in the Gran Chaco region of western Paraguay. Originally hunter-gatherers, many are now forced to supplement their livelihood as laborers on the cattle ranches that have encroached upon ...

(

Enxet The Enxet are an indigenous people of about 17,000 living in the Gran Chaco region of western Paraguay. Originally hunter-gatherers, many are now forced to supplement their livelihood as laborers on the cattle ranches that have encroached upon ...

), Paraguay **

North Lengua North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

( Eenthlit,

Enlhet Enlhet (Eenlhit), or Northern Lengua, is a language of the Paraguayan Chaco, spoken by the northern Enxet people. It is also known as ''Vowak'' and ''Powok''. In Filadelfia (Paraguayan Chaco) there is an organization that advocates for Enlhet l ...

, Maskoy), Paraguay **

South Lengua South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, Paraguay * Lulé (Pelé, Tonocoté), Argentina * Maká (Towolhi), Paraguay *

Nivaclé The Nivaclé are an Indigenous people of the Gran Chaco. An estimated 13,700 Nivaclé people live in the President Hayes and Boquerón Departments in Paraguay, while approximately 200 Nivaclé people live in the Salta Province of Argentina. A v ...

( Ashlushlay, Chulupí, Chulupe, Guentusé), Argentina, and Paraguay *

Sanapaná The Sanapana are one of many nomadic tribes inhabiting the lower Gran Chaco of western Paraguay. With the introduction of Mennonite settlements in the central Chaco in the 1930s, many nomadic tribes semi-settled near the Mennonites. The Mennonite ...

(Quiativis), Paraguay * Vilela, Argentina *

Wichí The Wichí are a group indigenous people of South America. They are a large group of tribes, inhabiting the headwaters of the Bermejo River and the Pilcomayo River, in Argentina and Bolivia. Notes on designation This ethnic group was referred ...

(Mataco), Argentina and Bolivia Many of these peoples speak or used to speak

Mataco–Guaicuru languages Mataguayo–Guaicuru, Mataco–Guaicuru or Macro-Waikurúan is a proposed language family consisting of the Mataguayan and Guaicuruan languages. Pedro Viegas Barros claims to have demonstrated it. These languages are spoken in Argentina, Brazi ...

References

External links

* * ttp://www.ventacamposparaguay.com/photos.htm photosof the Paraguay Chaco {{Authority control La Plata basin Natural regions of South America Regions of Argentina Regions of Bolivia Regions of Paraguay Ecoregions of South America Ecoregions of Argentina Ecoregions of Bolivia Ecoregions of Brazil Ecoregions of Paraguay Grasslands of Argentina Grasslands of Bolivia Grasslands of Brazil Grasslands of Paraguay Grasslands of South America Geography of Argentina Geography of Bolivia Geography of Mato Grosso Geography of Mato Grosso do Sul Geography of Paraguay Environment of Mato Grosso Environment of Mato Grosso do Sul Quechua words and phrases Physiographic provinces Neotropical dry broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests