The Brasília National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

located in the northwest of the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...

and in the center of the state of

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

, in the

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 ...

. The park covers an area of , with territory distributed by the

administrative regions Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Brazlândia Brazlândia is an administrative region in the Federal District in 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 ov ...

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

and Sobradinho, in the

and by the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Padre Bernardo Padre Bernardo is a municipality located in the state of Goiás, Brazil. Location Padre Bernardo is located 42 km north of the boundary with the Federal District. It has boundaries with the following municipalities: *North: Mimoso de Goiá ...

, in

. It is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). It is the largest park in an urbanized area in the world.

History

The creation of the park, on November 29, 1961, was under Federal Decree of Brazil covering an area of (initially was proposed) extending over an elevation range of . It is under

IUCN Category II IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is part ...

. It is directly related to the development of Brasilia. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the park was protected to provide forested area around the national capital of Brazil. In 1994, seventy percent of the park burned.

Geography

The park is in the northwest of the

in the center-west region of Brazil. Its boundaries have been fixed and also fenced. The park is divided into Intangible, Primitive, Extensive, Intensive, Special and Recuperation zones from the development perspective. The terrain is an undulating plateau with geological formations of

quartzites Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

and

limestones Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when th ...

. It has many caves and several springs. Apart from the springs, the source of water supply to the park is also through a reservoir. The most prominent features of the park are the pools formed from water wells. Several creeks flow through the park, including the Bananal, Torto, and Santa Maria Creeks. Because of the large number of springs, its nickname is ''Agua Mineral'' (mineral water); the water is reported to have healing properties. There are many trekking trails through the park.

Climate

The climate of the region, according to the

Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author an ...

, is "tropical savanna". The rainy season begins in October and ends in April, representing 84% of the annual total. The wettest quarter is from November to January, and December is the month with the highest rainfall of the year. The dry season is from May to September, and in the driest quarter is June, July, and August, when precipitation represents only 2% of the annual total. In terms of total annual average rainfall,

varies between . The park itself has an average annual

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

incidence of . Average annual

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

reported is . Eastern winds are dominant in the park.

Flora

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...

or upland savanna trees, the dominant vegetation in the central regions of Brazil, form the core area of this park. However, the vegetation around the springs and streams are of Campo Cerrado type, which consists of

gallery forests A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

. These areas fall under the

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

declared by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. The plant species reported from the park are buriti palm and many species of the ''

Velloziaceae Velloziaceae is a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Pandanales. Relationships and evolution By contrast to oth ...

'' (a family of

monocotyledonous Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of t ...

flowering plants. The park has established a forest tree nursery and also runs a centre for environmental education.

Fauna

The faunal species reported from the park are:

maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of foxes, but it is neither a fox nor a w ...

(''Chrysocyon brachyurus''),

pampas deer The Pampas deer (''Ozotoceros bezoarticus'') is a species of deer that live in the grasslands of South America at low elevations.Geist, Valerius. Deer of the world their evolution, behaviour, and ecology'. Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books, 1998 ...

(''Ozotoceros bezoarticus''),

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecopha ...

(''Myrmecophaga tridactyla''),

bush dog The bush dog (''Speothos venaticus'') is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first identified by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossils ...

(''Speothos venaticus''),

giant otter The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of musteli ...

(''Pteronura brasiliensis''),

giant armadillo The giant armadillo (''Priodontes maximus''), colloquially ''tatu-canastra'', ''tatou'', ''ocarro'' or ''tatú carreta'', is the largest living species of armadillo (although their extinct relatives, the Glyptodontidae, glyptodonts, were much l ...

(''Priodontes giganteus''),

black howler monkey The black howler (''Alouatta caraya'') or black-and-gold howler, is among the largest New World monkeys and a member of the ''Alouatta'' genus. The black howler is distributed in areas of South America such as Paraguay, southern Brazil, eastern ...

(''Alouatta caraya''), forest rabbit (''

Sylvilagus brasiliensis The common tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis''), also known as the Brazilian cottontail, forest cottontail, or (formerly) simply tapeti is a species of cottontail rabbit. It is small to medium-sized with a small, dark tail, short hind feet, and s ...

''), '' Juscelinomys candangus'', cavy (''

Galea spixii Spix's yellow-toothed cavy (''Galea spixii'') is a rodent, a cavy species from South America. It is found in Bolivia east of the Andes and much of south central to northeastern Brazil. The species is found in open savanna and semiarid habitats, s ...

''), '' Calhartes burrovianus urubutinga'',

Mussurana Mussurana or musurana (Portuguese: ''muçurana'') is a common name which is used for several species of New World snakes, especially species in the genus ''Clelia''. ''Clelia'' is a genus of large snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus is e ...

(''Portuguese muçurana'') and tegu ''(Tupinambis teguixin)''. Also reported are

black-tufted marmoset The black-tufted marmoset (''Callithrix penicillata''), also known as Mico-estrela in Portuguese, is a species of New World monkey that lives primarily in the Neo-tropical gallery forests of the Brazilian Central Plateau. It ranges from Bahia t ...

(''Callithrix penicillata''),

capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

wild pig A wild pig may be: *Suina, a suborder of even-toed mammals, including: **Suidae, a family of animals that are pigs or pig-like, including the Suinae and more distantly related extinct Old World tribes ***Suinae, a subfamily which includes the ''S ...

and

puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

. Birds include

greater rhea The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní and Spanish). One of two sp ...

(''Rhea americana''),

red-legged seriema The red-legged seriema (''Cariama cristata''), also known as the crested cariama and crested seriema, is a mostly predatory terrestrial bird in the seriema family ( Cariamidae), included in the Gruiformes in the old paraphyletic circumscription ...

''(Cariama cristata)'',

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

''(Pandion haliaetus)'',

king vulture The king vulture (''Sarcoramphus papa'') is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexic ...

(''Sarcoramphus papa''),

solitary eagle The solitary eagle or montane solitary eagle (''Buteogallus solitarius'') is a large Neotropical eagle. It is also known as the black solitary eagle. Range and habitat The solitary eagle is native to Mexico and Central and South America. It i ...

(''Buteogallus coronatus''), seed finches, ''

Oryzoborus ''Sporophila'' is a genus of Neotropical birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. The genus now includes the six seed finches that were previously placed in the genus ''Oryzoborus''. They are relatively small with stubby, conical bills adapted fo ...

'' '' crassirostris'', '' O. angloensis'', spotted tinamou ('' Nothura maculosa''),

lesser yellow-headed vulture The lesser yellow-headed vulture (''Cathartes burrovianus'') also known as the savannah vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the greater yellow-headed vulture unti ...

(''Cathartes burrovianus''),

curl-crested jay The curl-crested jay (''Cyanocorax cristatellus'') is a jay from South America. This New World jay is a beautiful and large (35 cm/14 in overall) bird with predominantly dark blue back, an almost black head and neck, and snow-white chest an ...

(''Cyanocorax cristatellus''), fer-de-lance (''

Bothrops jararaca ''Bothrops jararaca'' — known as the ''jararaca'' or ''yarara'' — is a highly venomous pit viper species endemic to South America in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. The specific name, ''jararaca'', is derived from the Tup ...

''),

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...

(''Athene cunicularia''), and

toco toucan The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco''), also known as the common toucan or giant toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern Sou ...

(''Ramphastos toco'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brasilia National Park National parks of Brazil Protected areas of Federal District (Brazil) Cerrado