Brazilian National Parks - Pictures and Info! #Part 5 + Bonus

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The last part of BNP, how many parks we saw... Let's see the last ones, and a bonus?

Serra do Divisor National Park

Moa River (in the middle. Its spring is the westernmost point in Brazil.
The Serra do Divisor National Park is a Brazilian conservation unit for integral protection of nature located in the state of Acre, on the border with Peru, with territory distributed by the municipalities of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mâncio Lima, Marechal Thaumaturgo, Porto Walter and Rodrigues Alves. The park is threatened by a bill by a congresswoman, which intends to lower it to the category of environmental protection area.

The origin of the name comes from the relief (geography) of the region where there is a natural divider of the waters of the hydrographic basins of the Ucayali river (Peru) and Juruá river (Brazil). Valuable fossil remains are also found in your region. The Moa River is one of the park's main attractions. It is considered the place of greatest biodiversity in the Amazon. Several endemic plant and animal species are found due, in part, to their proximity to the Andean ecosystem, in a transition region of the lowlands of the Amazon and the Andes mountains. It has an area of 843,000 hectares, being the fourth largest Brazilian national park. Several indigenous populations inhabit the park, so much so that the future Moa River indigenous reserve is already being demarcated.

Encantada (Enchanted) Waterfall

Serra do Gandarela National Park

The Serra do Gandarela National Park, created on October 13, 2014, constitutes an important environmental conservation area in the southern portion of the Espinhaço Range, 40 km from Belo Horizonte. The Serra do Gandarela National Park is located forty kilometers away from Belo Horizonte. The park covers the area of eight municipalities: Caeté, Itabirito, Mariana, Nova Lima Ouro Preto, Raposos, Rio Acima and Santa Bárbara, and part of the park is included within the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte. The park has a total area of 31 270.83 hectares.

Caraça Mountain Range

Through the request of several civil organizations, the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) prepared the proposal to create the park, aiming to protect the springs that supply Belo Horizonte, which are threatened by iron ore mining. The original proposal of 2010 foresaw an area of 38 220 hectares, but this was reduced before the creation of the park. Camping in the area is prohibited. The Serra do Gandarela National Park has immense tourist potential, reinforced by the easy access from the capital Belo Horizonte, or the historical city of Ouro Preto and region. The Iron Quadrangle, where the park is located, is a transition region between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes, which contributes to an increase in species diversity, due to the presence of species typical of both biomes. The vegetation comprises forms of rupestrian fields, grassy fields, savannahs and forests, all in a good state of preservation.

Ouro Preto, and its historic center. UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the cities covered by the park.

Serra do Itajaí National Park

Serra do Itajaí NP, view from Spitzkopf Hill
The Serra do Itajaí National Park is a Brazilian conservation unit for integral protection of nature located in the state of Santa Catarina, with territory distributed through the municipalities of Ascurra, Apiúna, Blumenau, Botuverá, Gaspar, Guabiruba, Indaial, Presidente Nereu and Vidal Ramos. It was created through a Federal Decree, issued by the Presidency of the Republic on June 4, 2004, with an area of 57 374 ha.

Serra do Itajaí is located entirely in the Itajaí Valley, in Santa Catarina. Spitzkopf Hill is an integral part of the conservation unit, as an "Integral Protection Conservation Unit", which allows public use. It is limited to the south with the Itajaí-Mirim River. The park area represents 2.5% of Santa Catarina's Atlantic Forest remnants, in addition to being the second largest conservation unit for integral protection of nature in southern Brazil.

Serra do Pardo National Park

The Serra do Pardo National Park is located in the municipalities of Altamira and São Félix do Xingu, in the Brazilian state of Pará. It is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). The park's objective is to preserve natural ecosystems, enabling scientific research and the development of environmental education and interpretation activities, recreation in contact with nature and ecological tourism.

Sunrise at Xingu River

The Serra do Pardo National Park, created through the decree of February 17th 2005, has an area of 445,392 hectares. The area has important natural elements such as mountains, different types of vegetation, the presence of rivers, among others. This category of conservation unit allows the area to be opened for public visitation, presenting potential for the development of activities related to tourism. Such activities can directly benefit the local community through job creation and, indirectly, through the development of local trade and infrastructure. However, as in other regions, there are illegal farms in the Park area, where the dispute over land is currently underway. In order for its natural resources to be conserved, an efficient monitoring and inspection system for the park must be provided, preventing new occupations and deforestation.

Serra dos Órgãos National Park

Serra dos Órgãos, with Dedo de Deus (God Finger) at background. (Is it a fairy tale?)

The Serra dos Órgãos National Park is a conservation unit located in the Serra dos Órgãos massif, covering the municipalities of Guapimirim, Magé, Petrópolis and Teresópolis, in Rio de Janeiro, with an area of 20 030 ha. It is open for permanent visitation. It is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).

Usually from May to September the mountaineering season is open, with adventurers from all over looking for direct contact with nature. The main route is the Petrópolis-Teresópolis Crossing, which requires three days and is considered the most beautiful hike in Brazil. The name of the park, which in English means Organs Mountain Range, derives from the similarity of the mountain peaks with the pipes of church organs, hence the name. The Serra dos Órgãos National Park was created on November 30, 1939 as the third national park in Brazil. The purpose of the park was to protect the headwaters of the rivers that flow into the Rio de Janeiro basin and to protect the spectacular mountains. The park was created by the government of Getúlio Vargas. Various buildings and other infrastructure were built in the 1940s, such as the natural pool, administrative buildings, warehouses, garage, staff rooms and four shelters on the Bell Trail. The park had about 250 employees, including waiters in mountain shelters. In the 1960s, with the national capital transferred from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, the park lost its financing and the facilities started to deteriorate. The shelters and some of the employees' homes have been lost. Efforts were made to restore the park from 1980, including the publication of the management plan and the purchase of land to regularize the park's mandate. Decree 90023, of August 2, 1984, delimited the area of ​​the park in 10,527 hectares. In the 1990s, the municipality of Guapimirim was separated from Magé and also started to contain part of the park. From the 1990s, old buildings were restored and new ones were built.

Serra dos Órgãos is the name of the Serra do Mar region in the central part of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It covers an area of ​​20,024 hectares. The range is a escarpment in the far north of Guanabara graben, between the cities of Petrópolis and Teresópolis. The mountains consist of granitic gneisses from the Neoproterozoic era. The region is structurally complex, with considerable failures combined with erosion. The crest that contains the Finger of God and other towers is unusual in that it is supported by a thick dike of Cambrian granite that is more resistant to erosion than the surrounding Neoproterozoic orthogneisses. The formation of rocks may have occurred some 620 million years ago. Along the escarpment, the altitude varies from close to sea level in the coastal plain to 2,260 meters above sea level, 4 kilometers further inland. The average altitude is 1,100 meters above sea level. Dedo de Deus (God Finger) and Escalavrado, 1,692 meters high and 1,490 meters high, and the nearby peaks, with steep rock walls, are dramatic features that can be seen on a clear day from the city of Rio de Janeiro, which is 50 kilometers away. The highest point is Pedra do Sino (Sino Rock), with 2,263 meters. In addition to the beauty and importance of the conservation of its species, the park is one of the best places in the country to practice mountain sports, such as climbing, hiking, abseiling and others. The climate is super humid tropical, with 80% to 90% relative humidity caused by moist Atlantic air most of the year. Average temperatures range from 13 to 23 ° C, but can reach 38 ° C and can drop below zero in the highest parts of the park. Average rainfall is 1,700 to 3,600 mm, with more rain in the summer (December to March) and a dry season in the winter, from June to August. The southeast side facing the ocean receives more rain than the northwest side.

Sunrise at Dedo de Deus (God Finger). (No! It's totally real! And you find it in Brazil!)

Serra Geral National Park

The Serra Geral National Park is a Brazilian conservation unit for integral protection of nature located on the border between the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.  The park covers an area of 17,301.96 ha distributed between the municipalities of Cambará do Sul, Jacinto Machado and Praia Grande.

Canyon Fortaleza view from above

Serra Geral was created through Decree No. 531, issued on May 20, 1992, with an area of 17,301.96 ha. The park's territory is bordering that of the Aparados da Serra national park, constituting an ecosystem of rare beauty and an important area of biodiversity for scientific, cultural and recreational purposes. Its administration is currently under the responsibility of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). The southern Santa Catarina relief is accentuated, with mountains and deep valleys that cut the edge of the plateau. The gaucho side is characterized by smooth coxilhas and shallow valleys. Without transition, the smooth undulations give rise to vertical walls and basaltic rocks. With 950 m of average altitude, on clear days it is possible to see the Atlantic Ocean, from the edges of the gorges, as well as several cities close to the coast, such as Torres, in Rio Grande do Sul. Formed from intense volcanic activities that took place millions of years ago, successive lava flows originated the plateau, covered by clean fields, araucaria forests and countless springs of crystalline rivers. To the east, this immense plateau is suddenly interrupted by vertical chasms that lead to the coastal region, hence the name Aparados da Serra. At some points, resulting from landslides, natural rock failures and erosion processes, there are grand canyons, among which the most well-known: Churriado, Malacara and Fortaleza. The climate is mild superhumid mesothermal without drought. Average annual temperatures are between 18 to 20 ° C, with an absolute maximum of 34 to 36 ° C and an absolute minimum of −4 to −8 ° C. The rainfall varies between 1 500 and 2 000 mm per year. Depending on the mountain climate, weather conditions can change quickly at any time of the year, with temperatures below 10 ° C being common in the middle of summer.

Panorama of a canyon in the park

Sete Cidades National Park

Rock formations in the park

The Sete Cidades National Park is a Brazilian conservation unit for the integral protection of nature located in the northern region of the state of Piauí. The park's territory of 7.700 ha is distributed among the municipalities of Brasileira and Piracuruca. The park is surrounded by the Serra da Ibiapaba Environmental Protection Area, of 1,592,550 hectares (created in 1996).

The Sete Cidades National Park was created by decree 50,744, of June 8, 1961, by Jânio Quadros, then president of Brazil. The management plan was published, but not officially formalized, on December 31, 1978. Decree 126 of December 14, 2010 created the advisory board. The park contains arid savannas (babassu palm forests) and areas of contact between savannah, arid savannah and seasonal forest, protects an important geological formation and conserves water resources in a dry region. The main geological attractions are the main attraction, in addition to some rock paintings and prehistoric inscriptions.

Superagüi National Park

The Superagüi National Park was created in 1989 with an initial area of about 21,400 ha. In 1999 another demarcation took place and the area increased to about 34,000 ha, which included Superagüi, Peças Island, Pinheiro Island and Pinheirinho Island. Also included were the Patos River valley, on the mainland, and the Varadouro Canal, which separates the Ilha do Superagui from the continental lands.

The park view from Superagüi Village

The park is part of the Paranaguá, Cananeia and Iguape estuary complex, between Paraná and São Paulo. In 1991, the park was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, since from a food supplement point of view it is one of the most important areas in the country. More recently, in December 1999, the park was also declared a Natural Heritage of Humanity, also by UNESCO. It houses bays, deserted beaches, sandbanks, mangroves and abundant Atlantic Forest formations. Several animal species, some of them rare or threatened with extinction, such as the red-browed amazon and the red-tailed amazon, the Superagüi lion tamarin and the broad-snouted caiman, live within their limits. The park does not yet have an organized tourist infrastructure, nor does it have a management plan. Only the village of Barra do Superagui is outside the limits of the park and there are eight inns, four restaurants and a camping site. There is no regular maritime transport, and private boats need to be chartered to reach the location. Tourist demand is still relatively small, but as a result of the installation of electricity at the end of 1998 and the proximity of the park to two large urban centers - Curitiba and São Paulo -, demand is likely to increase considerably in the near future, which makes a tourism planning program urgent. It is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). Many middens were found in the area, which are proof that there were very old fishermen, afterwards the region was inhabited by natives like carijós and tupiniquins, before the Portuguese came. In 1852, Perret Gentil, Swiss consul in Rio de Janeiro, founded on Ilha de Superagui one of the first European colonies in the state of Paraná, in the beginning 15 families were installed.

Tijuca National Park

Would you imagine a park...

Tijuca National Park is a Brazilian conservation unit for the integral protection of nature located entirely in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Among the park's tourist spots, trails, caves and waterfalls, there are famous landmarks of the city, such as Pedra da Gávea, Corcovado (where Christ the Redeemer is located), and Tijuca Mountain, the highest point in the park, rising 1,022 meters above the level of the sea. Of mountainous relief, it includes areas of the Massif da Tijuca. It is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). The area is composed of secondary vegetation, since it is the result of reforestation promoted at the time of the Second Reign, when it became clear that the deforestation caused by coffee farms was damaging the supply of drinking water in the then capital of the Empire. More than 230 species of animals and birds live in the park: among them, robust capuchin monkey, coati, agouti, bush dog, marmoset, hummingbird and thrush.

The park, which has 3 972 hectares, is the fourth largest urban green area in the country, surpassed only by the Cantareira State Park (7 916.52 hectares) in São Paulo, the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve (10,000 hectares) in Manaus and the Pedra Branca State Park (12,500 hectares) in Rio de Janeiro. "Tijuca" is a name originated in the Tupi language and means "rotten water", ty ("water") and îuka ("rotten"). The name is a reference to the Tijuca Lagoon region, which has a lot of mangrove and still water and which is located at the foot of the Tijuca Forest. The Tijuca Forest was on the way to Tijuca Lagoon, which is why it ended up acquiring the name of this lagoon. At the beginning of the 19th century, after a long period of devastation for the use of wood and sugar cane and coffee crops, the city began to suffer from the lack of drinking water, because, without the protection of vegetation, the water sources began to dry. Therefore, from 1862, Dom Pedro II ordered the reforestation of the place. The mission was entrusted to Military Police Major Archer, who began work with six slaves. 100,000 seedlings were planted in thirteen years, mainly species native to the Atlantic Forest. Major Archer's replacement, Baron d'Escragnolle, undertook landscaping work, transforming the forest into a beautiful park for public use, with recreational areas, fountains and lakes. Over time, administrations have presented different flora management policies, some with an emphasis on native flora, others, placing greater importance on the landscape aspect, starting with the introduction of exotic plants.

The Rio de Janeiro National Park was created through Decree No. 50,932, issued by the Presidency of the Republic on July 6, 1961, coming to unify the old Protective Forests of the Union of Tijuca, Paineiras, Corcovado, Pedra da Gávea, Trapicheiro, Andaraí, Três Rios and Covanca, present in the Massif da Tijuca, in the State of Guanabara, in a single protected area, of approximately 3,200 ha. Decree N ° 60,183, also issued by the Presidency of the Republic, on February 8, 1967, changed the park's name definitively to Tijuca National Park. Tijuca covers about 3.5% of the area of ​​the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. January. Despite being the smallest national park in Brazil, it is the most visited in the country, with approximately 2 million visitors per year. The park is located in the central portion of the municipality, and, as it has no continuous territory, it is mixed with the urban area of ​​the city.

...in a so big city!? (Wait, these captions are changed...)

Ubajara National Park

The Ubajara National Park is an Integral Protection Conservation Unit located in the  Ibiapaba Mountains region, in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Was created in 1959, and has an area of 6,299 ha. It is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), with the purpose of guaranteeing the integrity and the evolution process of the set of geological formations of great speleological, paleontological and archaeological importance in the municipality of Ubajara, in addition to the natural ecosystems of region, of great ecological relevance and scenic beauty. The park has unique characteristics for scientific research, as it contains two very different ecosystems in the near space, the wet forest and the dry forest. 

Ubajara NP

In the busiest periods of the year, the park usually receives an average of 1,500 visitors per day. The main attraction of the Ubajara National Park is the Ubajara Cave, which is located in a depression of 535 meters deep. Access to the cave can be done via the main, steep trail, with a length of 7 km and a 4-hour journey, or by cable car, with a journey of 550 meters and a duration of 3 minutes. The park has three trails: Ibiapaba, Samambaia and Araticum. On the walk along the trail, the visitor is faced with all the richness of the park's flora, such as streams and waterfalls, especially the Cachoeira do Cafundó and Rio das Minas. It is also possible to have a panoramic view of the Park through the Lookout, which is located on the banks of the Gameleira Creek and on the edge of the plateau. The tour to the cave and trails is carried out with the accompaniment of ICMBio guides. The Ubajara Cave is 1,200 meters long, approximately 75 meters deep, in relation to the entrance, but the visitor only has access to a length of approximately 450 meters, between galleries, with a 35-meter deep drop. Much of the cave is restricted to researchers. The cave has an underground river, its interior is completely dark and the path is illuminated by reflectors. The cave has very peculiar rock formations and several halls, named after the figures that the formations represent. The name Ubajara is of indigenous origin and the prevailing translation is "sir of the canoe". This name would have arisen from the legend of a chief who, coming from the coast, would have inhabited the cave for many years. There are other translations for the name, such as "sir of the arrows" and "expert arrow". Some people believe that the origin of the Ubajara Cave is due to the excavations in search of silver, added to almost two hundred years of bad weather. The origin and essence of the Park has always been the cave, which has also been a cause for passionate chronicles of local personalities and regional legends.

Viruá National Park

Viruá National Park is a Brazilian national park located in Caracaraí, Roraima. Viruá was created in 1998, and has 241 948.07 hectares. It constitutes a large mosaic of campinaranas, alternating open and forest formations, marked by enormous environmental heterogeneity, resulting in a high biodiversity, and has become a reference in the study of this type of ecosystem in the Amazon.

And... we finished? (Not the name of a park!)

Well, the national parks finished... But and the "bonus"? At the bonus, I'll show few state parks, or natural places in Brazil that should become national parks. Not because just of the landscapes, but even for take more protection of these places, affected by the urbanization. Let's see some of them?

Jalapão State Park

Jalapão, with its dunes, plateaus, and forests

The Jalapão state park is a Brazilian conservation unit with integral protection to nature located in the eastern region of the state of Tocantins. The park's territory, with an area of ​​158,970.95 ha, is distributed among the municipalities of Mateiros and São Félix do Tocantins. Created on January 12, 2001, Jalapão is the largest state park in Tocantins. The vegetation in the park is predominantly that of a thin savannah and that of a clear field with footpaths.

Its strategic position has continuity with the environmental protection area of ​​Jalapão, the Serra Geral do Tocantins ecological station and the Nascentes do Rio Parnaíba national park. The region is considered the main tourist attraction in the state of Tocantins, and in 2008 a reality show of the CBS Network was recorded in the region called Survivor: Tocantins. In 2017, it served as the setting for several scenes from Rede Globo's novel O Outro Lado do Paraíso  (The Other Side of Paradise). One of its characteristics is the production of handicrafts of golden grass and buriti silk, which has become the main source of income for local communities and has been the target of studies and actions to guarantee its sustainable, ecologically and economically use. Jalapão is an arid region dotted with oases. It is located to the east of the state of Tocantins. It has an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. Its total area is 34 thousand square kilometers. It is cut by an immense web of rivers, streams and streams, all of clear and transparent water.

Why is here?: For me, Jalapão is the most underestimated conservation unit in Brazil, by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), by ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), and by MMA (Ministry of the Environment). Jalapão has a great biodiversity, which creates its own ecosystem. Whether by the soft dunes, the small trees, or the imposing plateaus, Jalapão is a 3 in 1 combo, with a lot to see. It makes tourism in Tocantins revive, and it is a gift from the Cerrado (savanna). I feel sorry, because if Kesuko is not kidding, if he is really going to visit Brazilian national parks, he may not see this beauty. I have never visited any conservation unit, and Jalapão is something that attracts me. I hope to see its protection renewed soon.

Vila Velha State Park

The Vila Velha State Park is a geological site located in the Brazilian municipality of Ponta Grossa, which is the main tourist attraction. It is located twenty kilometers southeast of the city center and one hundred kilometers from Curitiba, capital of the State of Paraná. The set of formations resembles a medieval city with its ruined castles and towers, hence its name, which translating, is "Old Village". The average height of the stone columns and walls is twenty meters and can reach thirty meters or more in some points, depending on the rugged terrain. The sandstone formation of Vila Velha dates back to the Carboniferous period (approximately 340 million years ago), when the inland sea that existed in the place began to be drained, exposing the sandy material that ended up cemented with iron oxide (hence the reddish color).

The "Bowl", symbol of Vila Velha

In the following millennia the terrain gradually rose and was slowly eroded by the action of winds and rain that acted on the most fragile areas of the rocks, wearing them differently and even isolating them in different blocks. Some of the formations look like animals like the turtle or the camel, others resemble mushrooms of the most diverse types and sizes, or shapes like the "Bowl", a symbol of Vila Velha; the "Boot"; the "Sphinx"; the "Indian head"; stone walls that resemble castle walls, towers of various shapes and heights of varying geometry with different shapes and landscapes, as well as cracks whose internal shape resembles bottles. There are two large rocks hanging over the top between two rocky walls, always about to collapse and seem to float in defiance of the laws of gravity.

Why is here?: Vila Velha is a true open-air museum. Seeing these beautiful stone sculptures is something amazing. The feeling is like being on another planet. Increasing protection for a "national park" would help to further preserve the nature of the Ponta Grossa region, which has been growing in recent years. We already have Campos Gerais, but Vila Velha is something to be considered.

Cantareira State Park

São Paulo view from the park

The Cantareira State Park is an Integral Protection Conservation Unit in São Paulo that covers part of the Serra da Cantareira. The condition of State Park was adopted in 1962 and regularized by State Decree No. 41,626 of 1963. However, it was only in 1968 that the decree that made its creation official (No. 10,228 / 68) was published. At the time, the name was defined as Cantareira Tourist Park. In 1986 it was renamed Cantareira State Park.

In October 1994, UNESCO declared it as part of the Biosphere Reserve of the Green Belt of the City of São Paulo. Currently, it is managed by the Foundation for Conservation and Forest Production of the State of São Paulo (or Fundação Florestal) - a foundation linked to the Environment Secretariat of the Government of São Paulo, which was created in order to conserve, expand and manage forests belonging to to the state of São Paulo. Its largest proportion is found in the North Zone of São Paulo, but it also covers areas in the municipalities of Mairiporã, Guarulhos and Caieiras. The park covers 7,916.52 hectares, being part of Serra da Cantareira, the largest urban green area in the country (64,800 hectares), surpassing the Adolfo Ducke Forest Reserve (10,000 hectares) in Manaus and the Pedra Branca State Park (12 500 hectares) in Rio de Janeiro. It is a fragment of the Atlantic Forest with several species of fauna and flora. Serra da Cantareira was baptized by the tropeiros who traded between São Paulo and other regions of the country, in the 16th and 17th centuries. The large number of springs and streams found there provided water, which was stored in a cantharus (pitchers to store water) The park comprises part of the hill, but not all of it.

Why is here?: I had to specify Cantareira because of the unrestrained growth of São Paulo and the metro area. Increasing the protection of a conservation unit close to large urban centers in the growth phase helps to preserve the biodiversity that was contained in greater quantity in the places. Advances have already been made, to mention the Tijuca National Park, in Rio de Janeiro, the Brasília National Park, in Brasília, the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, near Cuiabá, and the Jaú and Anavilhanas National Parks, near to Manaus. But other areas close to the big cities would be:

  • Serra do Rola Moça State Park (Belo Horizonte)
  • Barigui Municipal Park (Curitiba)
  • Dunas de Natal State Park (Natal)
  • Pituaçu Metropolitan Park (Salvador)
  • Dois Irmãos State Park (Recife)
  • Belém Metropolitan Area Environmental Protection Area (Belém)
  • Delta do Jacuí State Park (Porto Alegre)
  • João Leite Environmental Protection Area (Goiânia)
  • Potycabana Park (Teresina)

Serra do Mar

Serra do Mar is a mountain range of Brazilian relief that extends for approximately 1 500 km, along the east / south coast, going from the state of Rio de Janeiro to the north of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Due to its value geological, the richness of its fauna and flora, part of the São Paulo stretch of the Serra do Mar was listed by Condephaat and included in the Historical Patrimony of the State of São Paulo on June 6, 1985.

Serra do Mar, near to Ubatuba, São Paulo

Under the terms of art. 225, §4 of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Serra do Mar, the Amazon Forest, the Atlantic Forest, the Pantanal Mato-Grossense and the Coastal Zone constitute national heritage. The Serra do Mar belongs to the Brazilian Cristalin Complex and consists mostly of granites and gneisses. The current forms of the Serra do Mar derive from several factors: difference in strength of rocks, failure of the relief and successive climatic changes. In some stretches, the Serra do Mar is presented as an escarpment, in others it is formed by marginal mountain ranges that rise from 500 to 1000 meters above the plateau. The last mountain segment of Serra do Mar, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, receives the local name of Serra dos Órgãos, and has the highest peaks of the entire Serra do Mar, such as the Teresópolis Sino (Bell) Rock (2 255 meters) ), the peak of Caledonia (2,257 meters) in Nova Friburgo. The highest altitudes in Paraná are found in the Serra do Mar, with the following peaks standing out: Paraná (1,877,392 meters), Caratuva (1,856 meters), Siririca (1,740 meters) and Marumbi (1,551 meters).

Why is here?: I didn't found a conservation unit with the name of Serra do Mar. The only one I found, was just covering part of the state of São Paulo, but Serra do Mar is a National Heritage of Brazil, covering part of the coastline of South and Southeast. There is a bunch of places for visit, things to do, but that need protection. Some conservation units are being instaled, and some of them getting the category of national park, but Serra do Mar needs more in my opinion, in addition to the advance of the urbanization.

Serra da Mantiqueira

Part of Serra da Mantiqueira in Passa Quatro, Minas Gerais
The Mantiqueira mountain range is a mountain range that extends across three states in Brazil: São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. The mountain range has a geological formation dating from the Archean era that comprises a rock massif that has a large area of highlands, between one thousand and almost three thousand meters of altitude, along the borders of the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

In the Serra da Mantiqueira there are several conservation units, such as the Serra da Mantiqueira environmental protection area, divided between the three states, the Itatiaia National Park, divided between Minas and Rio, and the Serra do Brigadeiro and Serra do Serra state parks. Papagaio (Minas) and Campos do Jordão (São Paulo). About 10% of the mountain range is in the state of Rio de Janeiro, 30% of the mountain range is located in the state of São Paulo, and the remaining 60% is located in the state of Minas Gerais. The mountain range begins in the region where the municipality of Barbacena is located and from there slopes to the southwest until it meets the borders with Rio de Janeiro and soon after, with São Paulo, where it becomes a natural border with state of Minas Gerais until the final mediations of Joanópolis (São Paulo) and Extrema (Minas Gerais) and, finally, it ends in the city of Bragança Paulista. "Mantiqueira" is a term of Tupi origin that means "raindrop", through the combination of the terms amana (rain) and tykyra (drop). Its name gives an idea of the great importance of the mountains as a source of drinking water, formation of rivers that supply a large number of cities in the Southeast Region of Brazil. Its streams form the Jaguari River, responsible for supplying the northern region of Greater São Paulo, the Paraíba do Sul River, which cuts through a densely inhabited and highly industrialized region on the Rio-São Paulo axis, the Rio Grande, which is an integral part of the largest hydroelectric complex in the country. The region of the Serra da Mantiqueira has average altitudes of 1200 to 2800 meters. The mountain is popular for the practice of mountaineering, for having high peaks, and for the rally. During the winter, as it is a dry season, the demand for this sport in the mountains increases. Due to the altitude, the winter in the Serra da Mantiqueira has low temperatures, with the occurrence of fog in the early morning and frequent frost, giving the landscape the appearance of regions with cold weather. It is common for thermometers to register temperatures that reach close to 0 ° C or less, and the lowest temperature recorded in a city in the mountains was -8.4 ° C in Maria da Fé in the state of Minas Gerais, on July 21, 1981 Frosts occur in cities in the region. In the highest peaks of the mountain, the cold can be more intense and the temperatures can be negative. There are records of snowfalls in peaks.

Why is here?: Once again, I didn't found something with this exact name, that would attend me, but Mantiqueira is full of amazing mountains and have a cool climate. The snow is extremely rare in Brazil, and the biodiversity over here is also great. Like Serra do Mar, there are some conservation units at Mantiqueira, but preserve all this place is something that needs to be considered.

Well, you can see a list of Brazilian State Parks here. I think shouldn't write another series with them, so... I would include more State Parks, but my time is short, and I can't search all of them here. Basically, nature needs to be preserved, but some of them needs more. Maybe I'm forgetting a park, but I think that you understand how amazing are these conservation units.

Ok... this is the end of BNP. This was the shortest part, with 11 national parks. The national parks part, is over, but nature and the blog not. With this series, we learned about these beautiful and incredible parks, but we saw that saving nature is not a simple catchphrase of the 80s hipsters. As we say “A picture is worth a thousand words”, just one image (in theory, two images ) tells us how much we need to preserve what nature has. And hey, we also have more than 1,000 words! Then more facts about why to preserve nature! I’m not being an activist (not least because I don’t really like activism, even though we need to make a difference), and we need cities (or I couldn’t bear to live in the gorgeous Belo Horizonte), to meet our needs, progress and improve our lifestyle, but it is not good to neglect what God created (I am a Protestant, and I know that others who are reading, may not be, and I respect, but...) So, take care of nature, because one day, we may not even be able to see and visit this majesty.

Thanks for allow me to share these parks, and if you liked, stay open to the news here on my blog! Thank you very much for that minute of attention, and until the next post!

Q. S. Thanks a lot on 2k takes (Actually I'm with 2 039 takes! YAY!)!

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Level 43
May 14, 2021
Hope you like it, thanks for 2k, and thanks for allow me for do this!
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Level 43
May 14, 2021
Did you like the bonus!?
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Level 55
May 14, 2021
The Sunrise at Serra Dos Orgaos looks amazing. It reminds me of the sunrise at Rocky Mountains National park. And yes, I read all of it.
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Level 43
May 14, 2021
Sunrises and sunsets are amazing. And with these gorgeous mountains of Serra dos Órgãos... wtf, I wanna visit a lot. I'll see Rocky Mountains. Looks nice! And thanks for reading :)
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Level 51
May 14, 2021
Wow! How many characters is this? It seems like a lot of hard work went into making this :)
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Level 43
May 14, 2021
Sure! I'll take a look...

EDIT: 35.948 characters :)

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Level 40
May 20, 2021
How long did you took to write this blog?!?
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Level 43
May 20, 2021
I think about two or three days. Was easier, because I tried to include these parks in part 4, but the limit of characters was over of 50k, and I saved the info of Serra do Divisor, Serra do Gandarela, and Serra do Itajaí. I putted here, and I continued searching.
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Level 61
May 14, 2021
Beautiful parks, all of them! I hope to visit someday :)
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Level 43
May 14, 2021
And there are more on the list if you see the series! I also hope!
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Level 54
May 14, 2021
Nice blog! Great pictures!
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Level 43
May 14, 2021
Thx!
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Level 54
May 14, 2021
Xingu river in Brazil, I think Chinese colonized it
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Level 43
May 14, 2021
Well, I know about Fordlândia that attracted Japanese, but not Chinese. By the way, Xingu used to be a National Park, but isn’t anymore. Xingu is the largest indigenous reserve of the world.
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Level 43
May 14, 2021
Oh, and here a picture of some Brazilian indigenous:

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Level 63
May 14, 2021
Awesome! I really like national parks and I am hoping to visit them soon. I especially like the Serra dos Órgãos National Park and the mountains are really cool! This series was great btw, I learnt so much about the amazing Brazilian national parks. You took so much effort into doing all of this and it paid off, you encouraged a European to visit Brazil lol!
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Level 43
May 14, 2021
Thanks! Serra dos Órgãos is really beautiful! And yeah! You should go to Brazil! I also hope visit them one day. Kesuko inspirated us a lot :)