Alto Paraguay (; ''Upper Paraguay'') is the least populous as well as a sparsely populated

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. The capital is the town of

Fuerte Olimpo Fuerte Olimpo () is a city in Paraguay. It is the capital of the department of Alto Paraguay. Straddling the river Paraguay which forms the border with Brazil, Fuerte Olimpo is Paraguay's northernmost departmental capital, located over 830 ...

. In 1992, the Chaco Department was merged with Alto Paraguay.

Nature and national parks

Alto Paraguay contains a varied and large amount of natural resources, which is why this department is home to several

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

, each with different characteristics. The

Defensores del Chaco National Park Defensor (Latin, 'one who defends') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Defensor (comics), a character in ''Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions'' * Defensor (''Transformers''), a character in the media franchise People *Defensor, a ...

is the largest in the Paraguayan territory. This park is home to the hill Cerro León, which is the highest point in the northern region of Paraguay. The dry terrain is optimal for the growth of various species of

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

. Another park in this department, Parque Nacional Río Negro, is located in an area with several small lakes and is home to most of the

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

in the department. Other national parks in Alto Paraguay are Parque Nacional Coronel Cabrera and Parque Nacional Chovoreca, which reside in dry regions.

Agriculture, livestock and deforestation

Paraguay's largest reserves of undeveloped fertile virgin forest covered land and lowest land prices are found in Alto Paraguay. However, agriculture and cattle farming are starting to make inroads. The fertility of the Chaco's deep sedimentary soils is generally high, except in the westernmost parts, where there are very sandy soils, and in the eastern plain where there are some seasonal wetlands. Annual rainfall is sufficient in the east (around 1200mm), fair in the center (around 900mm) and scarce in the west (around 700mm). A lack of infrastructure and roads is the primary limitation for farmers in the area. Current agricultural expansion comes at the expense of the area's native forests. During the two decades between 1990 and 2010, Paraguay had one of the highest

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

rates worldwide. The

World Land Trust The World Land Trust is a UK registered charity. It raises money to buy and then protect environmentally-threatened land in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. In 2018 it claimed to have raised more than £25 million and to have bought ...

estimates deforestation in the Paraguay Chaco at over 200.000 hectare for 2008 alone The department's most important activity by far is cattle ranching, both extensive in the savannas of the east and intensive on the planted pastures of cleared land. Cultivation of sorghum, sugar cane and (in planning stage as of January 2009, for the arid west)

jatropha ''Jatropha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός (''iatros''), meaning "physician", and τροφή (''trophe''), meaning "nutrition", hence the common name ...

are very recent developments.

Districts

The department is divided into five districts:Dirección General de Estadística, Encuestas y Censos : ''Censo : Lista de Áreas de Variables de Personas''
Retrieved 5 March 2010 #

Bahía Negra Bahía Negra is a district in the department of Alto Paraguay, Paraguay.. Located on the right bank of the Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in ...

# Capitán Carmelo Peralta #

Puerto Casado Puerto Casado (formerly known as La Victoria) is one of the 4 districts in Alto Paraguay Department, Paraguay. It includes the town of La Victoria, Paraguay, La Victoria or Puerto La Victoria, which has a population of around 7,800. History and ...

Mayor Pablo Lagerenza Mayor Pablo Lagerenza is a town in the Alto Paraguay department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in S ...

References

External links

Alto Paraguay Info

{{Geography of Paraguay States and territories established in 1992

Nature and national parks

Agriculture, livestock and deforestation

Districts

See also

References

External links