Vast, grass-covered plain in South America extending west from the Atlantic coast to the Andean foothills, primarily in Argentina.
The Argentine Pampas covers 295,000 sq mi (764,000 sq km) and slopes gradually downward from northwest to southeast. The western portion is dry and largely barren; the humid eastern portion is the nation's economic heart. Herds of wild cattle and horses, introduced by the Spaniards and rounded up by Argentina's famed gaucho s, roamed the Pampas until the later 19th century, when the land was fenced into huge estancias (ranches). The region is prominent in Argentina's gaucho literature and musical folklore.