Most of Uruguay is a gently rolling plain that represents a transition from the almost featureless Argentine pampas to the hilly uplands of southern Brazil. The country itself has flat plains on its eastern, southern, and western edges. The narrow Atlantic coastal plain is sandy and marshy, occasionally broken by shallow lagoons. The littorals of the Rio de la Plata and the Rio Uruguay are somewhat broader and merge more gradually into the hilly interior. ‘The remaining three-quarters of the country is a rolling plateau marked by: ranges of low hills that become more prominent in the north as they merge into the highlands of southern Brazil. Even these hilly areas are remarkably featureless, however, and elevations seldom exceed 200 meters. Uruguay is a water-rich land. Prominent bodies of water mark its limits on the east, south, and west, and even most of the boundary with Brazil follows small rivers. Lakes and lagoons are numerous, and a high water table makes digging wells easy. eee m= Three systems of rivers drain the land: rivers flow westward to the Rio Uruguay, eastward to the Atlantic or tidal lagoons bordering the ocean, and south to the jo de la Plata. The Rio Uruguay, which forms the border with Argentina, is flanked by low banks, and disastrous floods sometimes inundate large areas. The Iongest and most important of the rivers draining westward is the Rio Negro, which crosses the entire country from northeast to west before emptying into the Rio Uruguay. A dam on the Rio Negro at Paso de los Toros has created a z reservoir-the Embalse del Rio Negro-that is the largest artificial lake in South America. The Rio Negro’s principal tributary and the country’s second most . important river is the Rio Yi. ‘The rivers flowing east to the Atlantic are generally shallower and have more variable flow than the other rivers. Many empty into lagoons in the coastal plain. ‘The largest coastal Iagoon, Laguna Merin, forms part of the border with Brazil. ‘A half-dozen smaller lagoons, some freshwater and some brackish, line the coast farther south. animal industries. Almost three quarters of all territory of Uruguay is borrowed by meadows and (ET pastures, 10 % make arable lands and 3 % all is covered by woods, trees practically delivered:an 7 oak, a plane tree, a pine. ‘The major natural resources of Uruguay are the extensive spaces of grassy savannas creating a basis for commodity ay representatives of fauna are allocated the puma, pea (the American ostrich), a tapir, a deer, a wild boar, the fox, a wild cat, an anteater. Among numerous | | « birds: a swan, a heron, a crane, the cardinal, the humming-bird, the rabbit owl. ~ Set of large spiders. A plenty of reptiles, including a rattlesnake, a viper, alligators; the nutria which fur is considered one of the best in the world , http:/Avww.alluruguay.com/geography/uruguay-nature/ 05/08/2007