The Pantanal: Travel South America (Unabridged‪)‬

Learn about the history of the Panatal in South America with iMinds Travel's insightful fast knowledge series. In the heart of South America lies the Pantanal, the largest freshwater wetland system in the world. An area the size of France, most of the wetlands lie in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil. Often overshadowed by its more glamorous cousin The Amazon, the Pantanal actually has the greatest concentration of wildlife in the Americas. And environmentalists say it is in just as much ecological danger as any of the world’s rainforests.

Though the word ‘pantanal’ means swamp in both Spanish and Portuguese, the Pantanal is actually an enormous alluvial plain. The wetlands are all that remain of an ancient inland sea, known as the Sea of Xaraiés. This giant body of water began to dry out about 65 million years ago. Today the Pantanal is surrounded by highlands and water runs down into the valley from all sides. The natural cycle of the ecosystem is extreme and accounts for the large variety of fauna and flora.