page_title: Pelotas
section_title: Vegetation
hierarchical_section_title: Pelotas / Geography / Vegetation
caption_attribution_description: Português: Araucária no crepúsculo, próxima ao hipódromo de Pelotas, Brasil English: An araucaria tree at dusk near the hippodrome of Pelotas, Brazil
context_page_description: Pelotas is a Brazilian city and municipality, the third most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Pelotas is located 270 km from Porto Alegre, the capital city of the state, and 130 km from the Uruguayan border. The Lagoa dos Patos lies to the east and the São Gonçalo Channel lies to the south, separating Pelotas from the city of Rio Grande.
  In the 19th century, Pelotas was Brazil's leading center for the production of dried meat, a staple food made by slaves and destined to feed the slaves of sugarcane, coffee and cocoa plantations across the country.
  Currently Pelotas hosts two major universities, the Federal University of Pelotas, and the Catholic University of Pelotas. Together, they account for a population of 22 thousand higher education students.
  The city has three football clubs: Esporte Clube Pelotas, Grêmio Esportivo Brasil and Grêmio Atlético Farroupilha.
context_section_description: The larger part of rural Pelotas is made up of grasslands, with low and herbaceous vegetation (pampa). Small groves of cultivated trees (Babylon willow, eucalyptus, pine, cypress, acacia, poplar and platanus) and native trees (Cockspur coral tree and araucaria angustifolia) are also found. Pelotas is 55 km (34 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean, and possesses a beach along the Lagoa dos Patos, called Laranjal. In the vicinity of the beach one can find quagmires and sand dunes.
caption: An araucaria tree at dusk near the hippodrome of Pelotas
exif: {}