The Campina do Encantado State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Campina do Encantado) 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

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil.

Location

The Campina do Encantado State Park is in the municipality of

Pariquera-Açu Pariquera-Açu is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 19,723 (2020 est.) in an area of 359 km². The elevation is 39 m. Nearest cities are Registro and Cananéia Cananéia is the southernmost city in the s ...

, São Paulo. It has an area of . The park is in the lower Ribeira de Iguape River valley, between the Pariquera-Açu and Pariquera-Mirim rivers. There are no residents, although there is considerable pressure from the surrounding communities. The main focus of the park is on environmental education. The park has a visitor center with an audiovisual room, lodgings for researchers and technicians, a kiosk with a barbecue, a tank of native fish, a nursery of native plants and a computerized weather station.

History

Privately owned land within the present park boundaries was occupied decades ago, but since then the vegetation has completely regenerated. The Pariquera Abaixo State Park was created by state law 8.873 of 16 August 1994, with an area of . After further studies, the area was revised to . At the request of the consultative council, the park was renamed the Campina do Encantado State Park on 26 May 1999. The management plan was prepared by the São Paulo State Foundation for Forest Conservation and Production (Fundação para a Conservação e a Produção Florestal do Estado de São Paulo). It was approved on 21 October 2009. The park is part of the Lagamar mosaic of conservation units.

Archaeology

There are several archaeological sites,

midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

s containing fragments of shells, bones and other objects. Two of them are in diameter and high. The shell mounds are between 5,870 and 4,974 years old. At present they are from the sea shore, and above sea level. The sea was higher when the mounds were formed, and there was an extensive network of lagoons in the area that reached its maximum extent about 5,100 year ago.

Environment

The environment has been preserved because 50% is subject to periodic flooding and 25% is permanently flooded, cutting off access to the 25% that is higher arable land. The park holds a

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

bog over thick. The name "Campina do Encantado" (Enchanted Field) is due to the peat generating

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

gas which can burn with a flame shooting from the ground up to high. Vegetation is dominated by ''

restinga Restingas () are a distinct type of coastal tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest in eastern Brazil. They form on sandy, acidic, and nutrient-poor soils, and are characterized by medium-sized trees and shrubs adapted to the drier and nut ...

'' forest, swamp forest and '' várzea'' forest. The flora is rich in ''

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain o ...

s'' and '' Araceaes''. The park has diverse fauna, including the endangered

red-tailed amazon The red-tailed amazon (''Amazona brasiliensis''), also known as the red-tailed parrot, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to coastal regions in the south-east Brazilian states of São Paulo (state), São Paulo and Para ...

(''Amazona brasiliensis'').

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{authority control State parks of Brazil Protected areas of São Paulo (state) 1994 establishments in Brazil