Mato Grosso

Mato Grosso is a large state in central-western Brazil, a frontier of agribusiness and home to part of the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland. Its capital is Cuiaba. Where the Amazon, cerrado and Pantanal meet, it is a land of vast farms and extraordinary wildlife.

Mato Grosso spans three great ecosystems: Amazon rainforest in the north, cerrado savanna in the center, and the seasonally flooded Pantanal wetlands in the south. It is largely flat to gently rolling. The climate is tropical with pronounced wet and dry seasons.

The state blends frontier agribusiness culture with riverine, Indigenous and Pantaneiro cowboy traditions. Cuiaba is a gateway to the Pantanal, and the state is known for fishing, ecotourism and a hearty regional cuisine.

Opened by gold prospectors and later by vast cattle ranches and soybean farms, Mato Grosso became one of Brazil's leading agricultural states. The southern portion split off to form Mato Grosso do Sul in 1977.