Serras de Sudeste (English: ''Southeastern Mountain Ranges'') is a

dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded, and the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of fold (geology), ...

, also named Planalto Dissecado de Sudeste (''Southeastern Dissected Plateau'') or Escudo Sul-Rio-Grandense (''Shield of Rio Grande do Sul''), located in the southeastern portion 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 ...

state in southernmost Brazil, near

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Geography

Topography

This plateau has

hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall und ...

and

hillock A hillock or knoll is a small hill,The Free Dictionary
"hillock" entry, retrieved December 18, 2007 ...

s covered by

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 ...

s, known as ''coxilhas'' (''cuchillas'' in Spanish), whose highest levels do not exceed 600 metres (1,970 feet) in altitude. This plateau was formed in

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

time, divided by the Camaquã River in two main units, ''Serra de Herval'' and ''Serra dos Tapes''. This region has a triangular area between the cities of

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

, Jaguarão and Dom Pedrito, approximately. It is an old plateau, whose tabular relief is preserved only in areas between some rivers. There are three municipalities, in this region, whose their urban areas are situated above 400 metres (1,312 feet) of elevation: Caçapava do Sul, with 444 metres (1,456 feet), Pinheiro Machado, with 436 metres (1,430 feet), and Encruzilhada do Sul, with 432 metres (1,417 feet). With an urban area above 300 metres (984 feet) of elevation, there are the municipalities of Canguçu, with 386 metres (1,266 feet), Piratini, with 349 metres (1,145 feet), and Santana da Boa Vista, with 306 metres (1,004 feet). One of the highest points in this range of hills is Cerro do Sandi, with an elevation of 510 metres (1,673 feet), located in the municipality of Piratini.

Climate

The climate of this region is

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

( ''Cfa''), bordering on an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb''), with mild to warm summers and cool winters, with frequent

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

s and

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

. The rainfall is well distributed throughout the year, but occasional droughts can occur and

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

is uncommon ( snow flurries usually occur once or twice a decade). The last significant snowfalls occurred on September 4, 2006, and on September 5, 2008, in some municipalities of the region. The average annual temperature in Serras de Sudeste is between 16 °C (60.8 °F) and 18 °C (64.4 °F), and the average annual precipitation is about 1,400 mm (55.11 in). In the areas above 300 metres (984 feet) of elevation, the hottest month, January, has an average temperature of 21 °C (69.8 °F), and the coldest month, July, has an average of 11 °C (51.8 °F). In the lower areas of this plateau, the hottest month has an average between 22 °C (71.6 °F) and 24 °C (75.2 °F), and the coldest month has an average temperature between 11 °C and 12 °C (53.6 °F).

Vegetation

This plateau is located in the ecoregion of the Uruguayan savanna, and consists mostly of

s, with low and herbaceous vegetation (

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 ...

) and areas of palm savanna, gallery forests along rivers, and enclaves of submontane forest. Small groves of cultivated trees by the

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...

( Babylon willow,

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

, poplar and

platanus ''Platanus'' ( ) is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. The type ...

) and native trees ( Brazilian cherry,

butia ''Butia'' is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae, native to the South American countries of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Many species produce edible fruits, which are sometimes used to make alcoholic beverages and other foods. ...

, Brazilian pepper, cockspur coral tree and

araucaria angustifolia ''Araucaria angustifolia'', the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree (, or ), is a critically endangered species in the Pinophyta, conifer genus ''Araucaria''. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a " ...

) are also found.

Fauna

Grazing mammals of the hill range include the

Pampas deer The Pampas deer (''Ozotoceros bezoarticus'') is a species of deer that live in the grasslands of South America at low elevations.Geist, Valerius. Deer of the world their evolution, behaviour, and ecology'. Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books, 1998 ...

(''Ozotoceros bezoarticus''), the gray brocket or guazuvirá deer (''Mazama gouazoubira''), the

capybara The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...

(''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris''), the world's largest living

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

, the

Molina's hog-nosed skunk Molina's hog-nosed skunk, also called the Andes skunk (''Conepatus chinga''), is a skunk species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay, at elevations up to 5000 m. Habitat The Molina's ...

and the Pampas fox (''Lycalopex gymnocercus''), and birds include the

greater rhea The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese (language), Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní lang ...

(''Rhea americana'') and the red-winged tinamou (''Rhynchotus rufescens'').

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

s and

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...

s do not exist anymore in this area.

Hydrography

Serras de Sudeste is part of the watershed of the Camaquã River.

Municipalities of the region

* Aceguá * Amaral Ferrador *

Arroio do Padre Arroio do Padre (, Portuguese language, Portuguese meaning Priest's Stream) is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the southeastern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its 2020 population was 2,951. Much of the population ...

Bagé Bagé () is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. In 2020, its population was 121,335 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It is the seventeenth largest city in the state according to the 2011 census. The city was f ...

* Caçapava do Sul * Camaquã * Candiota * Canguçu * Capão do Leão * Cerrito * Cerro Grande do Sul * Chuvisca * Cristal * Dom Feliciano * Dom Pedrito * Encruzilhada do Sul * Herval * Hulha Negra * Jaguarão * Lavras do Sul * Morro Redondo * Pedras Altas * Pedro Osório *

Pelotas Pelotas () is a Brazilian city and Municipalities of Brazil, municipality (''município''), the fourth Largest cities in Rio Grande do Sul by population, most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, after Porto Alegre, Caxias do Su ...

* Pinheiro Machado * Piratini * Santana da Boa Vista * São Lourenço do Sul * Turuçu

Tourism

This region has been visited by many tourists due to the beautiful rural landscapes, with many

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

s among the hills. The city of Piratini, located in Serras de Sudeste, was the first capital of the

Riograndense Republic The Riograndense Republic, often called the Piratini Republic ( or ), was a ''de facto'' state that seceded from the Empire of Brazil and roughly coincided with the present state of Rio Grande do Sul. It was proclaimed on 11 September 1836 by ...

, a former republic in the 19th century.História
Prefeitura Municipal de Piratini (Piratini Town Hall) - Accessed on 26 January, 2017.

Economy

The main economic activities of the region are: agriculture, animal husbandry, mining and

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

, with production of wines of high quality, due to the characteristics of the soil and climate. Tourism is also economically significant. The

has had great economic importance, with the

afforestation Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no recent tree cover. There are three types of afforestation: natural Regeneration (biology), regeneration, agroforestry and Tree plantation, tree plan ...

of grasslands with eucalyptus, pine and acacia, utilized in the

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksBR-116 The BR-116 is part of the Brazilian Highway System. With at total length of it is the longest highway in the country. It is also the longest highway in the country to be completely paved. The highway connects Fortaleza, Ceará, one of the larg ...

, BR-392 and

BR-293 The BR-293 is an east-west highway in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The highway connects Pelotas to Quaraí, crossing important cities in the southern tip of Brazil such as Bagé and Santana do Livramento. The highway measures 535.7 km. ...

References

Bibliography

External links

*{{in lang, pt}
Imagens da neve em Pinheiro Machado, em 05 de setembro de 2008 (''Photos of the snow in Pinheiro Machado, on September 5, 2008'')
Metsul. Landforms of Rio Grande do Sul Plateaus of Brazil