At more than 42 million acres, the Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland and one of the most pristine in the world. It sprawls across three South American countries Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay and supports millions of people there, as well as communities in the lower Rio de la Plata Basin.

Pantanal, floodplain in south-central Brazil that extends into northeast Paraguay and southeast Bolivia. It lies mainly within the Brazilian estados (states) of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso.