Alto Uruguai is the designation for a physiographic region in the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Location

It is located between the

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( ; ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...

and the Ijuí River, bordering Marcelino Ramos in the northern part of the state. The region includes the main municipalities of

Santo Ângelo Santo Ângelo is a municipality located in northwestern Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. It has about 77,568 inhabitants (according to 2020 IBGE estimate) and the total area of the municipality is about 679 km2. It borders Giruá to the nor ...

Erechim Erechim () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the South Region, Brazil, South Region of Brazil. Recognized as a subregional hub in the country, it serves as the central cit ...

Tenente Portela Tenente Portela is a city in the north-west region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil, with an estimated population of 13,434 inhabitants. The city's geographical coordinates are , and its elevation is 390 m. Area: 337.5 ...

Palmeira das Missões Palmeira das Missões is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 33,131. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio ...

, Sarandi,

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

Frederico Westphalen Frederico Westphalen is a southern Brazilian town located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. History The first migrants arrived in 1918, when the first trails were opened, before the definitive road, which took 10 years to be built, between Bo ...

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

Três Passos Três Passos is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 23,852. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do ...

Giruá Giruá is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the northern part of the States of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The population is 15,863 (2020 est.) in an area of 855.92 km2. It is located 474 km west of the state capita ...

, and

Três de Maio Três de Maio (''English: "Third of May"'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located at . It has an area of 422,2 km2. It is located 343 m over sea level. As of ...

, with its capital being Erechim, having a population of 116,894 people.

Geography

Its area covers 26,062 km². The terrain consists of a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic soil plain, deeply cut by tributaries of the Uruguay River, with gentle relief towards the Uruguay River and more rugged terrain in the opposite direction of the watercourse. The region is situated at an elevation of 500 to 700 meters, featuring deep valleys with steep slopes ranging from 100 to 300 meters. Broadleaf forests extend parallel to the Uruguay River in a 100-kilometer-wide strip. In the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

, at an altitude exceeding 300 to 400 meters, this forest borders grasslands. Pine forests begin to the east near Tenente Portela, running alongside the broadleaf forest and intermingling with

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

Bibliography

* BORGES FORTES, Amyr. Aspectos Fisiográficos, Demográficos e Econômicos do Rio Grande do Sul. Serviço Social da Indústria, 1959

Ver também

* Physiography of Rio Grande do Sul

References

Physiographic regions of Rio Grande do Sul {{RioGrandedoSul-geo-stub