Physiographic Regions
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EASTERN HIGHLANDS CENTRAL LOWLANDS EASTERN HIGHLANDS WESTERN ALPINE SYSTEM EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Eastern Highlands(cores of Gondwana shield) • Brazilian Highlands • Guiana Highlands • Patagonian Highlands Striking similarity to geology and fauna in shields in Africa, Australia, India 340-280 mya: ice sheet S. America, Africa, Madagascar
Divisions of Brazilian Highlands:uplands (2000-3000 ft) 1.Brazilian Highlands 2.Sertão • Paraná Plateau 3.Mato Grosso plateau • Pantanál 4.Serro do Mar (Great Escarpment)
EASTERN HIGHLANDS CENTRAL LOWLANDS MATO GROSSO PLATEAU WESTERN ALPINE SYSTEM SERTÃO SERRO DO MAR PARANÁ PLATEAU EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Mineral resources: iron ore, diamonds, gold, manganese, tungsten
Sertão • semiarid • eroded
Paraná Plateaulava plateau; more humid Iguaçu River flows over edge of plateau
Mato Grosso Plateau • Upland, rolling hills, mountains, plateaus • Tributaries of Amazon • Industrial ores • Western frontier (Brasilia)
Pantanálwithin more humid part of Mato Grosso region; wetlands
Guiana Highlands EASTERN HIGHLANDS CENTRAL LOWLANDS EASTERN HIGHLANDS WESTERN ALPINE SYSTEM EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Guiana Highlands • Mining • Agriculture along northern coastal plain • Some erosional remnants remain • Tepuis: flat-topped mountains • Average elevation: 4500 ft. • Some is inaccessible and rugged • Angel Falls (3200 ft. over edge of tepuy) • World’s highest waterfall
Patagonian Plateau EASTERN HIGHLANDS CENTRAL LOWLANDS EASTERN HIGHLANDS WESTERN ALPINE SYSTEM EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Patagonian Plateau • Semiarid • Series of plateaus that get progressively higher (reaching 5000 ft. until Patagonian Andes)
Central Lowlands EASTERN HIGHLANDS Underlain by marine deposits; from a time when shallow seas extended between Guiana and Brazilian Highlands, before Andes emerged CENTRAL LOWLANDS EASTERN HIGHLANDS WESTERN ALPINE SYSTEM • Much of the lowland region is flooded during rainy season EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Llanos EASTERN HIGHLANDS EASTERN HIGHLANDS Amazon basin WESTERN ALPINE SYSTEM Gran Chaco Pampas EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Llanos • Northern Llanos: flat plains of the Orinoco River • High Llanos: east of Andean foothills • Good soils, agriculture • Low Llanos: savannas; cowboys & cowgirls
Gran Chaco • Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil • Lowland alluvial plain • Arid • Cattle ranching • Cotton, peanuts, meat, hides
Pampas • Temperate grassland plain • From southernmost Brazil, across Uruguay, to Colorado River in Argentina • Fertile soils • cattle, sheep (gauchos) • Grain, flax, soy, sunflowers, vegetables