The Environmental Protection Area (APA) of Copacabana and Arpoador Promontories, in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
was created to protect its rocky coast and native plant life species.
The
APA ranges from
Fort Copacabana
Fort Copacabana ( pt, Forte de Copacabana, ) is a military base at the south end of the beach that defines the district of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. The base is open to the public and contains the ''Museu Histórico do Exército'' (Army Historic ...
to the "
Girl from Ipanema
"Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema") is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song. It was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Po ...
" Park.
Fort Copacabana was inaugurated in 1914 with a mission to protect the coast of Rio de Janeiro and the entrance to the harbour. Today the fort provides visitors educational and cultural activities.
In the past, at very end of Arpoador Promontory - The Arpoador Rock- fishermen used to harpoon the whales that came to reproduce in this warm waters. The harpoon used by those fishermen gave the park its name and also has been used to identify the rock (in Portuguese ''Arpoador'' means fishermen who uses harpoon). The Arpoador Rock is preserved by the Municipal Historic Heritage. Also within the APA limits there is a public square called ''Girl of Ipanema Park'' after the world-famous song composed by Vinicius de Moraes and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
References
Parks in Rio de Janeiro (city)
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