Amid a patchwork of fields, towns, and winding rivers and roads in central Brazil stands a monolithic oval-shaped plateau. This conspicuous feature, the Serra de Caldas (also known as the Caldas Novas dome and Caldas Ridge), is perched about 300 meters (1,000 feet) above the surrounding landscape in the state of Goiás.
NASA/Wanmei Liang; Landsat data: USGS
On May 19, 2025, Landsat 9 captured this image of the Serra de Caldas in the state of Goiás, Brazil. The oval plateau is covered by a biologically rich savanna and grassland ecosystem called Cerrado. The Cerrado covers about one-fifth of Brazil’s land area and represents the second-largest biome in South America behind the Amazon. These lands are home to thousands of plant, bird, reptile, and mammal species, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet.
Learn more about this area sometimes referred to as the “cradle of waters.”
Text credit: Lindsey Doermann
Image credit: NASA/Wanmei Liang; Landsat data: USGS
在巴西中部，一片片田野、城镇、蜿蜒的河流和道路交织在一起，矗立着一个巨大的椭圆形高原。这一引人注目的地貌特征——卡尔达斯山脉（也称为卡尔达斯诺瓦斯穹丘和卡尔达斯山脊）——位于戈亚斯州，海拔约300米（1,000英尺），比周围地形高出许多。
NASA/Wanmei Liang; 陆地卫星数据: USGS
2025年5月19日，陆地卫星9号拍摄了这张位于巴西戈亚斯州的卡尔达斯山脉的照片。这片椭圆形高原被一个生物资源丰富的稀树草原和草地生态系统——塞拉多（Cerrado）所覆盖。塞拉多约占巴西国土面积的五分之一，是南美洲仅次于亚马逊的第二大生物群落。这些土地是数千种植物、鸟类、爬行动物和哺乳动物的栖息地，其中许多物种在地球上其他地方均未发现。
文字来源: Lindsey Doermann
图片来源: NASA/Wanmei Liang; 陆地卫星数据: USGS
