Iberá Wetlands

File:Esteros del Iberá.jpg

Some lakes in the Iberá Wetlands, reflecting sunlight. Photographed from the International Space Station.

The Iberá Wetlands (Spanish: Esteros del Iberá, from Guaraní ý berá: "bright water") are a mix of swamps, bogs, stagnant lakes, lagoons, natural slough and courses of water in the center and center-north of the province of Corrientes, Argentina.

Iberá is one of the most important fresh water reservoirs in the continent and the second-largest wetland in the world after Pantanal in Brazil. It is of pluvial origin, with a total area of 15,000–20,000 km² (5,800–7,700 sq mi).

Since 1982, part of the wetland is included within a provincial protected area, the Iberá Provincial Reserve, which comprises about 13,000 km² (5,000 sq mi), the largest of such areas in Argentina. There are ongoing plans to further up its protection status to national park.

• Carpincho (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) Iberá.jpg

  Capybara at Iberá

• Esteros del Ibera Marshes.JPG

  Esteros del Iberá Marsh

• Esteros del Ibera Laguna.JPG

  Esteros del Iberá Lagoon

See also

• Iberá Provincial Reserve