 Road in the Forest (70 K) |
The subtropical forest
Flora and fauna: The landscape is broken by mountains that run from the
Southwest to the Northeast, with maximum heights of hardly more than 800
m. towards the centre and north; furrowed by a great quantity of tributary
courses of water of the Paraná River and the Uruguay 
River.
This combination produces a great quantity of falls and cascades.
The " lateritas ", the famous red earth is rich in aluminium, silica and
iron oxides.
The climate is subtropical without dry season, with an average rain of
1,000 mm to 2,000 mm and temperatures between 20º and 30 º C. It is very
damp and the forest forms a real hothouse.
There is a great variety of flora species - more than 2,000 can be identified
in the different strata: 
big trees, of more than 30 meters high; trees of intermediate size, bushes
and herbaceous surface flora.
 Puma (58 K) |
There are different combinations of plants: forests of black laurel and white guatambú (Balfourodendron riedelianum) with ferns and bamboos, climbers and more than 60 species of orchids and bromelias; laurel forests and palo rosa (Aspidosperma polyneuron). Other arboreal species are incense, the ybirá puitá (Peltophorum dubium) in the highest stratum; in the intermediate one, the timbó (Cathormion polyanthum), the ambay (Didymopanax morototoni), the guapoy or higuera estranguladora and in a lower one the pindó palm (Arecastrum romanzoffianum), the aguay, the yellow laurel and the petiribí (Cordia trichotoma). Reedbeds like the tacuarembó and the tacuaruzú (Guadua angustifolia) and among the epífitas the caraguatá (aechmea sp), the güembé (philodendron sp) and the Spanish moss (tillandsia sp) stand out. Each species can be seen in different stadiums of growth and given the variety of species, they flourish during the whole year.
There are almost 70 species of mammals in this region
like the weasels, the tapir ( the biggest in South America), the coatí
and the brown monkeys (capuchinos), rodents as the agoutí (Dasyprocta
Azarai), the platense otter (Lutra paranensis) and the paca (Agouti paca)
and bigger animals like the ant bear (Tamandua tetradactyla), the pecarí,
the puma (Felis Puma) and the less frequent yaguareté
 Toucan (19 K) |
