The Pantanal is a collection of many distinct areas such as savannas, grassy meadows and marshes, gallery forests and cerrado scrub. It is contained within a large bowl-like alluvial flood plain starting at the base of a series of plateaus known collectively as the Brazilian Highlands. Rivers originating in these highlands carry large amounts of water and sediment into the Pantanal during the rainy season, typically November to April. Up to eighty percent of the Pantanal becomes flooded as a result! During the dry season, when river flow diminishes, many perennial lagoons, known as baias and salinas, remain. Baias are shallow freshwater ponds and lakes and salinas are salt water. Their shallow nature allows wading birds unparalleled access to large amounts of food during this period.

Now learn why the Pantanal is threatened.

	WWF - Animals of the Pantanal
	World Conference on the Pantanal
	Living Lakes
	Introduction to the Pantanal
	Landscape and Climate of the Pantanal