Mondongos

The mondongos are low-lying swamp fields in the north of the island Marajó in the Brazilian state Pará.{{cite journal |last1= Bastos |first1=M.N.C. |last2= |first2= |date=1984 |title=Levantamento florístico dos campos do Estado do Pará. I. Campo de Joanes (Ilha de Marajó) |url=https://repositorio.museu-goeldi.br/bitstream/mgoeldi/589/1/B%20MPEG%20Bot%201%282%29%201984%20BASTOS.pdf |journal=Botânica |volume=1 |issue=1/2 |location=Belém |publisher=Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi |pages=67–86 |doi= |access-date=}}

They are flooded during the wet season, which occurs between January and May.

The mondongos occur in the transition zone between the tropical rainforest on the west of the island and the savannas in the east.{{cite book |last=Smith |first=N.J.H. |date=2002 |title=Amazon sweet sea: land, life, and water at the river's mouth |url= |location= |publisher=University of Texas Press |pages=163–173 |isbn= |access-date=}} They stretch for around {{convert|90|km|mi}}.{{cite book | last = Lisboa | first = P.L.B. | title = A Terra dos Aruã: Uma história ecológica do arquipelágo do Marajó | year = 2012 | publisher = Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi | location = Belém }}

The mondongos are situated on an old arm of the Amazon River that crossed the island Marajó when it was still forming.

A ridge of sandstone separates them from the current main channel of this river.

According to Ferreira Penna, the mondongos were created when the Amazon deposited sediments against this ridge.{{cite book |last=Derby |first=O.A. |chapter=A ilha de Marajó |editor-last1=Hartt |editor-first1=C.F. |editor-last2=Rathbun |editor-first2=R. |date=1879 |title=Miscellaneous Publications on the Geology of Brazil, Not Separately Catalogued |url= |location= |publisher= |page= |isbn= |access-date=}}

The many streams in the area have tides that are influenced by the Amazon, not by the Pará River.{{cite book |last= |first= |date=1904 |title=Globus |volume=85 |url= |location= |publisher=Bibliographisches Institut |page= |isbn= |access-date=}}

The mondongos are largely covered with swamp rice grass{{cite book |last1=Dias-Filho |first1=M.B. |last2=Lopes |first2=M.J.S. |chapter=Leersia hexandra, Capim-pomonga |chapter-url=https://www.infoteca.cnptia.embrapa.br/infoteca/bitstream/doc/1144627/1/Plantas-para-o-Futuro-Norte-978-982.pdf |editor-last1=Coradin |editor-first1=L. |editor-last2=Camillo |editor-first2=J. |editor-last3=Vieira |editor-first3=I.C.G. |date=2022 |title=Espécies nativas da flora brasileira de valor econômico atual ou potencial: Plantas para o Futuro: Região Norte |url= |location= |publisher=Ministério do Meio Ambiente, Secretaria de Biodiversidade |page=977–981 |isbn= |access-date=}} and water hyacinths. Their roots form a dense mass that makes the area difficult to thread.{{cite book |last= |first= |date=1910 |title=Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere |volume=28 |url= |location= |publisher=G. Fischer |page= |isbn= |access-date=}}

The edges of the mondongos, as well as the banks of the many streams are lined with aninga flowers.{{cite book |last= |first= |date=1908 |title=Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere |volume=26 |url= |location= |publisher=G. Fischer |page= |isbn= |access-date=}}

Among the fauna are caimans, marsh turtles and anacondas.{{cite book |last= |first= |date=1888 |title=Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere |volume=3 |url= |location= |publisher=G. Fischer |page= |isbn= |access-date=}}

Wood storks have their nests here.

Many elevations called tesos were identified that were used by Indigenous peoples for protection during high water.

In the present day, large farms let their water buffaloes graze in the area.