United States

Uruguay is a coastal country in southeastern South America, with an eastern border along the South Atlantic Ocean. Terrain is characterized by lowlands, grasslands, and a fertile coastal plain. The Rio Negro splits the northern and southern landscape. Most of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by rangeland. Uruguay has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians and mammals is also high. The rarity of marine fish and mammals is also high. Challenges to biodiversity include water pollution; heavy metal pollution; hazardous waste; and deforestation.