Grande Sertão Veredas National Park (Brazil)

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Grande Sertão Veredas National Park (Brazil)

Thu, 06/25/2020 - 15:45

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Protected Area

Grande Sertão Veredas National Park is located along the border between the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia in east-central Brazil. Aimed to preserve the Carinhanha River basin, it is named for its extensive streams that resemble pathways and which can sometimes form oxbow lakes or larger rivers.

Grande Sertão Veredas National Park

Grande Sertão Veredas National Park is located along the border between the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia in east-central Brazil. It is named for its extensive streams (veredas) that resemble pathways and which can sometimes form oxbow lakes or larger rivers.

The park is in the Cerrado biome and contains forests, savanna and dense cerrado. The buriti palm tree (Mauritia flexuosa) is commonly found in the park.

Grande Sertão Veredas National Park was formed in 1989 with 84,000 ha (207,500 acres) in Minas Gerais. In 2004, the park was expanded to over 230,000 ha (570,000 acres), extending to the municipalities of Chapada Gaúcha, Formoso and Arinos in Minas Gerais and Cocos, Bahia. The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation administers it.

The altitude in the National Park ranges from 660 - 900 m (2,170 - 2,950 ft). Annual rainfall averages 1,400 mm (55 in). Temperature ranges from 16 - 37 °C (61 - 99 °F) with an average of 23 °C (73 °F).

The terrain contains extensive sandstone plateaus covered in savanna vegetation, with lower drainage areas containing streams. The park contains much of the upper basin of the Carinhanha River and the sub-basins of its tributaries, such as the Itaguari, Mato Grande, Preto and Canabrava.

Specifically, the park aims to preserve the basin of the Carinhanha River, an important tributary of the São Francisco River as well as to preserve the flora and endemic fauna of the Cerrado.

The name given to this National Park is meant as a tribute to an important Brazilian literary work: "The Devil to Pay in the Backlands" (Grande Sertão: Veredas) by João Guimarães Rosa.

Threatened species protected by the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park include: