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The Pampas (from Quechua ''pampa,'' meaning "plain"〔) are fertile South American lowlands, covering more than , that include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Córdoba; most of Uruguay; and the southernmost Brazilian State, Rio Grande do Sul. These vast plains are a natural region only interrupted by the low Ventana and Tandil hills near Bahía Blanca and Tandil (Argentina), with a height of and , respectively. The climate is mild, with precipitation of , more or less evenly distributed through the year, making the soils appropriate for agriculture. This area is also one of the distinct physiography provinces of the larger Paraná-Paraguay Plain division. These plains contain unique wildlife because of the different terrains around it. Some of this wildlife includes the rhea, the pampas deer, several species of armadillos, the pampas fox, the white-eared opossum, the elegant crested tinamou, and several other species. ==Climate== The climate of the Pampas is generally temperate, gradually giving way to a more subtropical climate in the north, and to a semiarid climate on the western fringes (e.g. San Luis Province and western La Pampa Province). Summer temperatures are more uniform than winter temperatures, generally ranging from during the day. However, most cities in the Pampas occasionally have high temperatures that push . This occurs when a warm, dry, northerly wind blows from southern Brazil. Autumn arrives gradually in March, and peaks in April and May. In April, highs range from and lows from . The first frosts arrive in mid-April in the south, and in late May or early June in the north. Winters are generally mild, although cold waves do occur. Normal temperatures range from during the day, and from at night. With strong northerly winds, days of over can be recorded almost everywhere, whereas during cold waves, high temperatures can be only . Frost occurs everywhere in the Pampas, although it is much more frequent in the southwest, and less so around the Parana and Uruguay Rivers. Temperatures under can occur everywhere, whereas values of or lower are confined to the south and west. Snow never falls in the northernmost third, and is rare and light elsewhere, except for exceptional events where depths have reached . Springs are very variable; it is warmer than fall in most areas (especially in the west), but significantly colder along the Atlantic. Violent storms are more common, as well as wide temperature variations: days of can give way to nights of under or even frost, all within only a few days. Precipitation ranges from in the northeast, to about in the southern and western edges. In the west, it is highly seasonal, with some places recording averages of monthly in the summer, and only monthly in the winter. The eastern areas have small peaks in the fall and in the spring, with relatively rainy summers and winters that are only slightly drier. However, where summer rain falls as short, heavy storms, winter rain falls mostly as cold drizzle, so that the amount of rainy days is fairly constant. Very intense thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer, and it has among the most frequent lightning and highest convective cloud tops in the world. The severe thunderstorms produce intense hailstorms, and both floods and flash floods, as well as the most consistently active tornado region outside the central and southeastern US. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pampas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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