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| Central Brazilian Plateau | |
|---|---|
| Name | Central Brazilian Plateau |
| Native name | Planalto Central |
| Country | Brazil |
| Region | South America |
| States | Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Distrito Federal |
| Highest point | Serra do Tombador? |
| Area km2 | 1500000 |
Central Brazilian Plateau is a broad highland region occupying much of central Brazil and forming a dominant physiographic unit of South America. It underpins major river basins such as the Amazon Basin, the Planalto Central-adjacent São Francisco River, and headwaters of the Paraná River, while containing diverse biomes including the Cerrado, fragments of Atlantic Forest, and gallery forests tied to indigenous and colonial histories such as the Dutch Brazil and Captaincy of São Paulo. The plateau has been central to modern projects like the Trans-Amazonian Highway, the BR-163, and urban planning in Brasília.
The plateau extends across the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Bahia, and the Distrito Federal, forming a roughly triangular upland bounded by the Amazon Basin to the north, the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the east, and the Pantanal to the west. Major geomorphological provinces within the region include the Goiás Massif, the Serra do Espinhaço, the Chapada dos Veadeiros, and the Serra da Canastra, each intersecting federal initiatives such as the creation of the Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros and infrastructure corridors like the North–South Railway (Brazil). Cities on or adjacent to the plateau—Brasília, Goiânia, Belo Horizonte, Cuiabá—serve as administrative, economic, and cultural hubs connected by highways including the BR-050 and BR-060.
The plateau is underlain by ancient Precambrian cratonic rocks of the São Francisco Craton and overprinted by Proterozoic orogenic belts such as the Brazilian Shield and the Araçuaí Belt. Volcanic and intrusive events associated with the Sao Francisco Craton evolution, plus later Mesozoic rifting tied to the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean, produced sedimentary basins like the Paraná Basin and remnants of flood basalts correlated with the Etendeka province and the Parana-Etendeka volcanism. Weathering, pediplanation, and differential uplift driven by lithospheric processes created the mesas, escarpments, and chapadas observable in units like the Chapada dos Guimarães, influencing mineral deposits exploited by companies such as Vale S.A. and prompting research at institutions like the Universidade de São Paulo and Universidade Federal de Goiás.
The plateau exhibits climatic gradients from tropical wet and dry (Aw under the Köppen climate classification) across the central Cerrado to more temperate highland climates (Cwb/Cwa) in elevated sectors such as the Serra do Cipó and Serra da Mantiqueira. Seasonal monsoon-like rainfall patterns are influenced by the South Atlantic Convergence Zone, the Intertropical Convergence Zone, and the South American Monsoon System, while droughts and El Niño–Southern Oscillation events registered by observatories at INMET and CPTEC/INPE modulate agricultural cycles in municipalities like Luziânia and Anápolis. Mean annual temperatures decline with elevation, affecting phenology studied by researchers at the Embrapa network.
The plateau functions as a continental water divide, giving rise to headwaters of the Amazon River tributaries, the Tocantins River, the São Francisco River, and the Paraná River system. Important reservoirs and watersheds include the Hydroelectric Complex of Furnas, the Três Marias Dam, and the Balbina Dam (on peripheral uplands), which have been central to national electrification by agencies like Eletrobras. Rivers carve deep canyons and chapadas such as those along the Araguaia River and Paranaíba River, while karst areas with springs feed aquifers tapped for municipal supply in Brasília and agricultural irrigation schemes supported by the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social.
The plateau is synonymous with the Cerrado biome, a biodiversity hotspot hosting endemic flora and fauna cataloged by institutions like the Museu Nacional (Brazil) and conservation lists such as the IUCN Red List. Vegetation ranges from open savanna, wooded savanna, to gallery forests along riparian corridors that support species like the maned wolf, the giant anteater, and numerous endemic plant genera in families such as Fabaceae and Melastomataceae. Patches of Atlantic Forest and seasonal dry forest persist in escarpments and valleys, and montane enclaves harbor specialized assemblages addressed by academic programs at the Universidade de Brasília.
Human occupation spans pre-Columbian indigenous groups, colonial bandeirante routes, and modern settlement driven by agricultural expansion, cattle ranching, and soy production linked to exporters and multinational agribusinesses like Bunge Limited and Cargill. Urbanization centers include Brasília—a UNESCO World Heritage site—and state capitals such as Goiânia and Belo Horizonte, connected through national plans like the Plano de Integração Nacional. Land conversion for soybean cultivation, pasture, and mining (iron ore in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero) has reshaped landscapes, while social movements such as the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra have contested land tenure.
Conservation efforts involve federal and state protected areas like Parque Nacional da Serra da Canastra, Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros, and initiatives by NGOs including SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation to curb deforestation and safeguard endemic species listed by ICMBio. Environmental challenges include conversion of native savanna to agriculture, fragmentation affecting pollinators and hydrological regulation, water pollution from mining operations near the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, and fire regimes exacerbated by climate change and policy changes during administrations debated in the Federal Senate (Brazil). Restoration projects, payments for ecosystem services, and scientific programs at agencies such as CNPq and CAPES aim to reconcile development with biodiversity protection.