The Caminho dos Gerais State Park pt, Parque Estadual Caminho dos Gerais is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, Brazil. It protects a mountainous area with

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 ...

and

caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

vegetation that is an important source of water in a dry region.

Location

The Caminho dos Gerais State Park is divided between the municipalities of Espinosa: ,

Gameleiras Gameleiras is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. the population was 5,096 in a total area of 1,733 km². The elevation is 540 meters. It became a municipality in 1997. The postal code (CEP) is 39505-0 ...

: ,

Mamonas Mamonas is a municipality in the north of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2020 the population was 6,554 in a total area of 290 km². The elevation is 681 meters. It became a municipality in 1993. The postal code (CEP) is 39516-000. ...

: and

Monte Azul Monte Azul is a municipality in the north of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 20,696 (2020 est.) in an area of 994 km². The elevation is 582 meters. It became a municipality in 1878. The postal code (CEP) is 39500-000. Th ...

: in the north of Minas Gerais. It has an area of . The park protects part of the

Serra Geral The Serra Geral (General Mountains) is a mountain range in southern Brazil, constituting the southern portion of the Serra do Mar system which runs along Brazil's southeastern coast. The Serra Geral runs parallel to the Atlantic coast in Santa ...

, and is an extension of the

Espinhaço Mountains The Espinhaço Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in Brazil. The range runs roughly north and south through the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, extending for approximately . It forms the divide between the upper watershed of the São Francisco ...

. It covers rugged terrain with an average altitude of . Soils are mainly latosols,

cambisol A Cambisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a soil in the beginning of soil formation. The horizon differentiation is weak. This is evident from weak, mostly brownish discolouration and/or structure formation in the soil pr ...

s and quartzarenic neosols, with rocky outcrops. It rises dramatically from a landscape of vast plains. Its ridges, gorges, rapids, waterfalls and beautiful views give it significant tourist potential.

History

Creation of the park was based on local demand, the quality of the environment, the scenic beauty and the potential for tourism. The local civil organizations, municipal authorities and elected officials asked the IEF to protect the area, which is the only source of water now that burning the

for charcoal and planting eucalyptus had dried up the other sources. The Caminho dos Gerais State Park was created by governor

Aécio Neves Aécio Neves da Cunha (; born 10 March 1960) is a Brazilian economist, politician and former president of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). He was the 17th Governor of Minas Gerais from 1 January 2003 to 31 March 2010, and is current ...

by state decree on 28 March 2007 with the purpose of protecting regional fauna, flora, and the sources of rivers and streams of the region, and of supporting and reconciling scientific, educational and recreational use with preservation of the natural heritage.

Environment

The environment in the region has been adversely affected by expansion of agriculture, livestock and eucalyptus plantations without concern about their impact, particularly in the areas of

chapada A chapada () is a plateau found in the Brazilian Highlands. The chapadas, which are usually described as mountain ranges, are capped by horizontal strata of sandstone. They show the original surface, which has been worn away by the rivers, leaving ...

s. As a result, some flora and fauna are threatened with extinction, and some water courses have disappeared. The park is in an area that is still in good condition and contains rare, endemic and endangered species. The area has not been well studied by scientists. The climate is dry, with average annual rainfall between in Espinosa and in Gameleiras. There is a well-defined rainy period. Average annual temperature is about . The park is the main source of water for the four municipalities, and also protects the sources of the Verde Pequeno River, a tributary of the Rio Verde Grande, which in turn is a tributary of the

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon, the Paraná and t ...

. It holds the sources of streams and rivers such as the Gameleiras, Engenho, Boa Vista, Brejo, Coronel, Jacú das Piranhas, Poço Triste, Boqueirão do Encantado, Pé de Serra, Riacho Seco, Espera and Capivara. Vegetation includes

and

dry forest. The parks holds rare species such as Ipê (

Tabebuia ''Tabebuia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae.Eberhard Fischer, Inge Theisen, and Lúcia G. Lohmann. 2004. "Bignoniaceae". pages 9-38. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families a ...

sp.), Jatobá (

Hymenaea courbaril ''Hymenaea courbaril'', the courbaril or West Indian locust, is a tree common in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. It is a hardwood that is used for furniture, flooring, and decoration. Its hard fruit pods have edible dry pulp ...

), Pequi (

Caryocar brasiliense ''Caryocar brasiliense'', known as pequi (, ) or "souari nut", like its congeners, is an edible fruit popular in some areas of Brazil, especially in Centerwestern Brazil. Taxonomy The pequi tree grows up to 10 m (30 ft) tall. It i ...

), Pacari ( Lafoensia pacari), Pau santo (

Kielmeyera ''Kielmeyera'' is a plant genus in the family Calophyllaceae.Stephens, P.F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/ It is endemic to South America, with a large occurrence in ...

sp.), Faveiro (

Dimorphandra mollis ''Dimorphandra mollis'', the Fava d'anta, is a tree species in the genus of '' Dimorphandra''. It is a plant of the Cerrado vegetation of Brazil. The seeds are known to be toxic to cattle. Fava d'anta contains astilbin, rutin and quercetin Q ...

) and Angico (

Anadenanthera colubrina ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' (also known as vilca, huilco, huilca, wilco, willka, curupay, curupau, cebil, or angico) is a South American tree closely related to yopo, or ''Anadenanthera peregrina''. It grows to tall and the trunk is very thorn ...

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caminho dos Gerais State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 2007 2007 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Minas Gerais