Pampas

Rio Grande do Sul is the area of the pampas region that is most influenced by the Gaúchos; the plains that cover a large part of the state are the cradle of some of its most powerful traditions. Strongly influenced by its neighbours in the River Plate area - especially Argentina and Uruguay - is the custom of chimarrão (herb tea drunk out of a gourd through a silver tube), the wearing of wide-legged trousers (typical costume with wide jodhpurs), the cooking of a barbecue on the ground (a Gaucho barbecue is prepared using all the parts of the animal - thin steaks, ribs, etc., that take hours to roast on a fire lit in the earth) and the incorporation into the dialect of the "tch" sound and Castilian Spanish expressions.

A large number of British settled in this region and left their mark in the form of well- cared for houses and gardens in cities such as Rio Grande, Dom Pedrito, São Gabriel, Rosário do Sul and Bagé, from where ex presidents Getúlio Vargas and João Goulart originated. The Portuguese have also left behind their mark, notably in the form of the mansions of Rio Pardo. Although this is a region where the plains predominate, the pampas also have areas with caves and grottoes, such as Pedro do Segredo in Caçapava do Sul, as well as archaeological sites in the town of Mata where there are examples of petrified trees thousands of years old.