Campos de Cima da Serra, also known as Campos de Vacaria, is a Brazilian

physiographic region Physiographic regions are a means of defining Earth's landforms into independently distinct, mutually exclusive areas, independent of political boundaries. It is based upon the classic three-tiered approach by Nevin M. Fenneman in 1916, that separ ...

in the

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 ...

, located in the far northeast of the state, bordering Santa Catarina. It comprises the main municipalities of Bom Jesus, Cambará do Sul, Campestre da Serra, Capão Bonito do Sul, Esmeralda,

Ipê ''Handroanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae.David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK. It consists of 30 species of trees, known in Latin America by ...

, Jaquirana, Lagoa Vermelha, Monte Alegre dos Campos,

Muitos Capões Muitos Capões is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It was raised to municipality status in 1992, the area being taken out of the municipalities of Vacaria, Lagoa Vermelha and Esmeralda. As of 2020, the estimated populat ...

, Pinhal da Serra, São Francisco de Paula,

São José dos Ausentes São José dos Ausentes is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality with an average altitude of 1200 meters, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its population was approximately 3,543 in 2020. It has an area of approximately 1176 km ...

, and

Vacaria Vacaria is a municipality in the northeast of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located at a latitude of 28° 30' 44" South and a longitude of 50° 56' 02" west, with an altitude of 971 meters. Its population in 2020 w ...

. Its total area is 21,033 square kilometers. It is located at altitudes ranging from 900 meters in the west to 1,200 meters in the Aparados da Serra. The region is characterized by gently rolling terrain deeply cut by several rivers and consists of an elevated plain with

basaltic Basalt (; ) is an 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 surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% ...

soil that slopes to the west. The predominant

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is 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 herbs. Grasslands occur ...

with occasional stands of

Araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...

trees. An extensive strip of pine forests lies along the Aparados da Serra. In the western part, there are large pine forests interspersed with the grasslands. In the

Pelotas River The Pelotas River ( ) is a river in southern Brazil, and a tributary of the Uruguay River. The river originates in the Serra Geral at Alto do Bispo and flows northeast for before meeting the Canoas River, forming the Uruguay River. It forms ...

valley, there is a direct connection between the

broadleaf forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

(which continues up the Uruguai River to the

Missões Missões, Brazil is a region of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil roughly occupying the same area previously dominated by the colonial missions founded by Saint Roque González. The ''Missões'' region is located in the northwestern part of the state ...

) and its equivalent formation on the eastern edge of the Planalto Médio, connecting with the Atlantic forests of Santa Catarina.

Vegetation

The Grassland Biome, with

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 ...

, accounts for 47.1% of the vegetation. The Parkland Biome with gallery forests contributes 12.2%. Both are known as the Campos de Cima da Serra. The Mixed Ombrophilous Forestrepresents 37.5% of the vegetation; the Deciduous Seasonal Forest contributes 3.1%, and the Semi-deciduous Seasonal Forest contributes 0.2%.

Hydrography

The region's hydrography consists of two river basins: 52% in the Taquari-Antas River Basin and 48% in the Apuaê-Inhandava River Basin. It is located in an area of headwaters for important rivers, such as the Taquari-Antas River and the

, a tributary of the Uruguai River.

References

{{reflist

External links

Secretaria do Turismo do Rio Grande do Sul
Physiographic regions of Rio Grande do Sul

Vegetation

Hydrography

See also

References

External links