Sierras pampeanas
Encyclopedia
The Sierras pampeanas or Pampas Sierras (Pampas Mountains) is a geographical region of Argentina.
The Sierras pampeanas are a chain of mountains that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa
region of Northwest Argentina. They run parallel to the Andes Mountains and their crest line is some 540 km (335.5 mi) east of the Andes crest line (running from 29° to 35° S latitude at about 65° W longitude). They cross into seven Argentina provinces: San Luis, San Juan, Córdoba
, La Rioja
, Catamarca
, Santiago del Estero
and Tucumán.
area. Between the high points are several salt-filled depressions. The Salinas Grandes
depression is located in Cordoba, La Rioja, Catamarca and Santiago del Estero. A characteristic of many of these mountain ranges is their morphological asymmetry: the western slopes are usually steeper than the eastern slopes, thus the former are sometimes calledcoasts and the latter are called skirts. The narrow valleys are called "broken" or "open"; the narrow openings between valleys are called "doors".
Due to erosion and other geoforming forces (volcanoes, glaciers, rivers, tectonic etc.), the surface of this area varies widely. It includes cliffs and narrow channels of some rivers which are named "drawers" (if they are of moderate size) or "guns "(if they are older); there are abundant cave
s, grotto
s and overhangs. Some mountains are separated by significant open areas (too large to be considered a "valley"); these are called "barreales" (mud-flats) or "pampas" (grassy plains).
.
Groundwater is not abundant in most of this area; the eastern slopes show greater population due to the greater runoff water available there. There are short, torrential rivers and many streams and rivulets that carry low flows, with brief and violent floods caused by summer rains. These rivers are used for the production of hydropower
.
, Algarrobo negro
, chañar
, jarilla
, mistol
, piquillin
, Tala
, alpataco
, tabaquillo and espinillo
.
In the more arid regions (the west faces) grow giant or medium cactus
and various shrubs (chilca
, tola etc.) As more rainfall is available, the vegetation is dense with trees such as conifers, alder
, deciduous
trees including walnut
, jacaranda
, pisonia
, Schinus molle
, quebracho
, acacia
, and flowering plants such as orchids, jasmine
and Bromeliads. The Córdoba and San Luis areas have abundant vegetation on the eastern slopes, including carob, "coconuts" (local name of palm trees), Garabato Blanco and willow
. In the Córdoba hills are stands of olive
s, peach
, pear
, apricot
, fig trees, quince
lemon trees, Cypress
, cedar
, ponderosa pine
, eucalyptus
, poplar
, oak
and willow
Especially in the Córdoba and San Luis areas are found shrub
s and medicinal herbs peperina, pennyroyal
, dandelion, plantain
, canchalagua, wild grapes
, chamomile
, malva
, lime
and passion fruit.
In arid areas such as the center and west of La Rioja and Catamarca, irrigated vines thrive, and large plantations of olive trees, (jujube
was brought by Lebanese immigrants and Syrians in early twentieth century), grain
s, aloe
and jojoba
.
Much of the area is presently deforested due to desertification
, especially the deforestation
or logging ( "clearing"), strip-mining (without resurfacing or replanting), animal overgrazing, burning to open up areas for grazing.
(in the north), wildcat
, fox, armadillo
and mule deer
; rodents such as the viscacha
and guinea pig
.
The observed fauna varies according to the combination of three basic natural factors: the arrangement of mountain ranges, altitude and climate. There are important variances of biome
in the Pampas Sierras: semi-arid areas, rain-forest areas, and moderately fertile areas covered with natural forests (especially in Córdoba and San Luis). In the arid zone of La Rioja and Catamarca are found vicuña
and some alpaca
. Earlier in the twentieth century jaguar
were found in the rainforests. In the eighteenth century there were sightings of Spectacled Bear
s.
The avifauna is diverse and relatively abundant in the higher, mostly arid areas. It includes condor
s and vulture
s. In the fertile plains of Tucumán previously were found rhea
, turkey
, parrot
, hummingbird
, woodpecker
and pigeons.
Settlers to the region have introduced domestic animals such as horses, donkeys, goats, pigs, cattle and sheep.
and olive oil
production, as well as cheese
s, homemade breads
, pie
s, sweets (the best known nationally are the sweet potato
and quince
) and alcohol
. Most of these products are sold within the region, mainly associated with tourism
. Indeed, due to its climate and spectacular scenery the Pampas Sierras are a major tourist destination in Argentina.
The name "Pampean Ranges" can be misleading, since the Argentine Pampas cover most of the country's northern and eastern portion. However, other mountains which rise from these expanses are considered distinct geologic formations, not part of the Sierras pampeanas.
The Sierras pampeanas are a chain of mountains that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa
Pampa
The Pampas are the 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...
region of Northwest Argentina. They run parallel to the Andes Mountains and their crest line is some 540 km (335.5 mi) east of the Andes crest line (running from 29° to 35° S latitude at about 65° W longitude). They cross into seven Argentina provinces: San Luis, San Juan, Córdoba
Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...
, La Rioja
La Rioja Province (Argentina)
La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...
, Catamarca
Catamarca Province
Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are : Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja...
, Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero Province
Santiago del Estero is a province of Argentina, located in the north of the country. Neighbouring provinces are from the north clockwise Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán.-History:...
and Tucumán.
Geography
The highest point of the Sierras pampeanas is Cerro General Belgrano (6250 m above sea level) in La Rioja, in the FamatinaFamatina
Famatina is a town in the province of La Rioja, Argentina. It has 6,371 inhabitants as per the , and is the only municipality in the Famatina Department...
area. Between the high points are several salt-filled depressions. The Salinas Grandes
Salinas Grandes
The Salinas Grandes is a salt desert in the Córdoba and Santiago del Estero provinces of the Sierras de Córdoba in Argentina. It covers an area of 3,200 mi² ....
depression is located in Cordoba, La Rioja, Catamarca and Santiago del Estero. A characteristic of many of these mountain ranges is their morphological asymmetry: the western slopes are usually steeper than the eastern slopes, thus the former are sometimes calledcoasts and the latter are called skirts. The narrow valleys are called "broken" or "open"; the narrow openings between valleys are called "doors".
Due to erosion and other geoforming forces (volcanoes, glaciers, rivers, tectonic etc.), the surface of this area varies widely. It includes cliffs and narrow channels of some rivers which are named "drawers" (if they are of moderate size) or "guns "(if they are older); there are abundant cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s, grotto
Grotto
A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
s and overhangs. Some mountains are separated by significant open areas (too large to be considered a "valley"); these are called "barreales" (mud-flats) or "pampas" (grassy plains).
Climate and hydrography
This region has a temperate and semi-arid climate, with warm summers and cool winters. The northern east slope is covered by rainforest, due to high humidity in this subtropical zone. The portions within Córdoba and San Luis enjoy Mediterranean-type climate, with intense summer rainstorms and snowy winters; the vegetation here includes conifer trees. More precipitation falls on the eastern slopes, which meet the moist winds from the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
Groundwater is not abundant in most of this area; the eastern slopes show greater population due to the greater runoff water available there. There are short, torrential rivers and many streams and rivulets that carry low flows, with brief and violent floods caused by summer rains. These rivers are used for the production of hydropower
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
.
Flora
Extant species include Algarrobo blanco (white carob)Prosopis alba
Prosopis alba is a South American tree species that inhabits the center part of Argentina, the Gran Chaco ecoregion and part of the Argentine Mesopotamia. It is known as Algarrobo Blanco in Spanish, which means "white carob tree"...
, Algarrobo negro
Prosopis nigra
Prosopis nigra is a South American leguminous tree species that inhabits the Gran Chaco ecoregion , in Argentina and Paraguay...
, chañar
Geoffroea decorticans
Geoffroea decorticans, the chañar, kumbaru, or Chilean palo verde , is a small deciduous tree, up to tall that inhabits most arid forests of southern South America. The chañar is cold and drought deciduous; it loses its leaves in winter, and possibly in summer if conditions get too dry...
, jarilla
Larrea
Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Spanish scientist J.A. de Larrea. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and are so closely related...
, mistol
Ziziphus mistol
Ziziphus mistol or mistol is a spiniferous tree of the family Rhamnaceae, that belongs to genus Ziziphus, natural of certain areas of Gran Chaco, South America...
, piquillin
Condalia microphylla
Condalia microphylla is a perennial shrub of the Rhamnaceae family, that is endemic to Argentina.-References:* USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. GRIN. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland....
, Tala
Celtis tala
Celtis tala, known as Tala, is a medium size deciduous tree, native to tropical and subtropical South America. With small to medium sized spines, its one of the main components of the Gran Chaco pairies and certain areas of the argentinian pampa....
, alpataco
Prosopis
Prosopis is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion...
, tabaquillo and espinillo
Acacia caven
Acacia caven is an ornamental tree in the Fabaceae family. Acacia caven is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay...
.
In the more arid regions (the west faces) grow giant or medium cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
and various shrubs (chilca
Chilca
Chilca was a rocket launch site in Peru at , near to Lima. Chilca was in service from 1974 and 1983 and was mainly used for launching Arcas and Nike rockets....
, tola etc.) As more rainfall is available, the vegetation is dense with trees such as conifers, alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
, deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees including walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
, jacaranda
Jacaranda
Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America , Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It is also found in Asia, especially in Nepal...
, pisonia
Pisonia
Pisonia is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. It was named for Dutch physician and naturalist Willem Piso . Certain species in this genus are known as Catchbirdtrees because their sticky seeds reportedly trap small birds...
, Schinus molle
Schinus molle
Peruvian Pepper is an evergreen tree that grows to 15 meters . It is native to the Peruvian Andes...
, quebracho
Quebracho tree
Quebracho is a common name in Spanish to describe very hard wood tree species. The etymology of the name derived from quiebrahacha, or quebrar hacha, meaning "axe-breaker".-Species:...
, acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
, and flowering plants such as orchids, jasmine
Jasmine
Jasminum , commonly known as jasmines, is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family . It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World...
and Bromeliads. The Córdoba and San Luis areas have abundant vegetation on the eastern slopes, including carob, "coconuts" (local name of palm trees), Garabato Blanco and willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
. In the Córdoba hills are stands of olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s, peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
, pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
, apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
, fig trees, quince
Quince
The quince , or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region...
lemon trees, Cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
, cedar
Cedrela
Cedrela is a genus of seven species in the mahogany family Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. The name is derived from a diminutive form of Cedrus...
, ponderosa pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
, eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
Especially in the Córdoba and San Luis areas are found shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and medicinal herbs peperina, pennyroyal
Pennyroyal
Pennyroyal refers to two plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. For the American species, see American pennyroyal. The European pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium, , is a plant in the mint genus, within the family Lamiaceae. Crushed Pennyroyal leaves exhibit a very strong fragrance similar to spearmint...
, dandelion, plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
, canchalagua, wild grapes
Vitis
Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce...
, chamomile
Chamomile
Chamomile or camomile is a common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. These plants are best known for their ability to be made into an infusion which is commonly used to help with sleep and is often served with either honey or lemon. Because chamomile can cause uterine...
, malva
Malva
Malva is a genus of about 25–30 species of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae , one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of...
, lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
and passion fruit.
Jujube
Ziziphus zizyphus , commonly called jujube , red date, Chinese date, Korean date, or Indian date is a species of Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, used primarily as a fruiting shade tree.-Distribution:Its precise natural distribution is uncertain due to extensive cultivation,...
was brought by Lebanese immigrants and Syrians in early twentieth century), grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
s, aloe
Aloe
Aloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....
and jojoba
Jojoba
Jojoba, pronounced , is a shrub native to the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of Arizona, California, and Mexico. It is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, placed in the order Caryophyllales. It is also known as goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box...
.
Much of the area is presently deforested due to desertification
Desertification
Desertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
, especially the deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
or logging ( "clearing"), strip-mining (without resurfacing or replanting), animal overgrazing, burning to open up areas for grazing.
Fauna
The area boasts a diverse fauna, although several species are moving toward extinction (such as the boa). Among the native animals: puma, Brocket deerBrocket Deer
Brocket deer are the species of deer in the genus Mazama. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in forests. They are superficially similar to the African duikers and the Asian...
(in the north), wildcat
Wildcat
Wildcat is a small felid native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa.-Animals:Wildcat may also refer to members of the genus Lynx:...
, fox, armadillo
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
and mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
; rodents such as the viscacha
Southern Viscacha
The Southern Viscacha is a species of rodent in the family Chinchillidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru....
and guinea pig
Guinea pig
The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
.
The observed fauna varies according to the combination of three basic natural factors: the arrangement of mountain ranges, altitude and climate. There are important variances of biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
in the Pampas Sierras: semi-arid areas, rain-forest areas, and moderately fertile areas covered with natural forests (especially in Córdoba and San Luis). In the arid zone of La Rioja and Catamarca are found vicuña
Vicuña
The vicuña or vicugna is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to share a wild ancestor with domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fibre...
and some alpaca
Alpaca
An alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of to above sea level, throughout the year...
. Earlier in the twentieth century jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
were found in the rainforests. In the eighteenth century there were sightings of Spectacled Bear
Spectacled Bear
The spectacled bear , also known as the Andean bear and locally as ukuko, jukumari or ucumari, is the last remaining short-faced bear and the closest living relative to the Florida spectacled bear and short-faced bears of the Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene age.The spectacled bear is a...
s.
The avifauna is diverse and relatively abundant in the higher, mostly arid areas. It includes condor
Condor
Condor is the name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.They are:* The Andean Condor which inhabits the Andean mountains....
s and vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s. In the fertile plains of Tucumán previously were found rhea
Rhea (bird)
The rheas are ratites in the genus Rhea, native to South America. There are two existing species: the Greater or American Rhea and the Lesser or Darwin's Rhea. The genus name was given in 1752 by Paul Möhring and adopted as the English common name. Möhring's reason for choosing this name, from the...
, turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
, hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
, woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
and pigeons.
Settlers to the region have introduced domestic animals such as horses, donkeys, goats, pigs, cattle and sheep.
Economy
Agriculture is the predominant economic activity in the area; most products are for local consumption. Only where rainfall is more abundant is agricultural output destined for outside sale. Salt mining is an important industry; the salt beds there are the country's largest, covering some 8400 km². Certain areas are noted for wineWine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
production, as well as cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
s, homemade breads
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
, pie
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
s, sweets (the best known nationally are the sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
and quince
Quince
The quince , or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region...
) and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
. Most of these products are sold within the region, mainly associated with tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. Indeed, due to its climate and spectacular scenery the Pampas Sierras are a major tourist destination in Argentina.
Main areas
The Pampean Sierras region may be catalogued into sub-regions:- Tucumán and Catamarca: Cumbres Calcahaquíes, Sierra del Aconquija;
- Catamarca: Sierra de Belén, Sierra de Ambato, Sierra de Ancasti (or Sierra del Alto), Sierra de Fiambalá, Sierra de Hualfín;
- La Rioja: Sierra de Famatina, Sierra de Sañogasta, Sierra de Velasco, Sierra de los Llanos, Sierra de los Colorados, Sierra de las Minas, Sierra de Chepes, Sierra de Paganzo;
- San Juan: Sierra de Valle Fértil, Sierra de la Huerta, Sierra Guayaguas, Sierra de Pie de Palo;
- Santiago del Estero: Sierra de Ambargasta, Sierra de Guasayán, Sierra de Sumampa;
- St. Louis: Sierra de las Quijadas, Sierra de Varela, Sierra del Portezuelo, Sierra del Alto Pencoso, Sierra del Yulto, Sierras de San Luis, Sierra de Guayaguas, Sierra de Cantantal, Sierra del Tala;
- Córdoba: Sierras de Cordoba, including Sierras de Comechingones (which border with San Luis).
The name "Pampean Ranges" can be misleading, since the Argentine Pampas cover most of the country's northern and eastern portion. However, other mountains which rise from these expanses are considered distinct geologic formations, not part of the Sierras pampeanas.