SOUTHERN BRAZIL HIGHLANDS 145 



terraces, the upper ones of which, nearer the sierra, are 

 treeless grass-lands, whereas the lower inland terraces 

 are clad with stately forests of araucaria and yerba 

 mate* to the brink of the highlands. To this region 

 also belongs the hilly territory of Misiones, a spur of 

 the wooded highlands protruding into the grassy campos 

 of the lower Parana. 



On the higher ridges, the climate is cold enough to 

 favour a truly alpine vegetation : short close swards, 

 dwarf bushes, and cushion -plants. Owing to the rise 

 of the highlands and consequently the more temperate 

 climate, the dry tropical vegetation of the northern 

 highlands has now changed to a decidedly subtropical, 

 indeed temperate type. These conditions have en- 

 couraged the settlement of numerous European colonies, 

 the chief occupation being cattle-raising and mining; 

 cultivation, however, is not wanting. Sao Paulo is well 

 known for its coffee, while everywhere manioc is grown 

 for home consumption, and there is a promising field 

 also for the fruit industry. Wheat has been grown on 

 the higher levels. 



The savana becomes almost exclusively predominant 

 on the watershed plateau between the Amazon and the 

 Parana basins. 



Matto Grosso and West. Goyaz. In this region, the 

 plateau, on the low divide of the Amazon and Parana 

 basins, assumes a more strictly table-like appearance : 

 broad valleys are sunk deep below the flat level of the 

 land. There is more rain, due perhaps to some monsoon 

 influence from the Amazon. The country has been little 

 explored, but it seems to continue southward the campos 

 of the backwoods of the Amazon, and may be conceived, 

 as far as known, as a typical tropical savana of the 

 'chapada' description. The deep valleys with their 



