The Gruta da Lagoa Azul State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual Gruta da Lagoa Azul) 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

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

, Brazil. Its primary attraction is a limestone cave with a pool of blue water and unusual cave formations. These have suffered from vandalism, causing the cave to be closed until measures to protect it could be implemented.

Location

The Gruta da Lagoa Azul State Park is in the municipality of

Nobres Nobres is a city in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. It is located approximately 140 kilometers from Cuiabá on the south slopes of the Serra Azul. Tourists are encouraged to visit the region for its beautiful waterways and limestone caves. The ...

, Mato Grosso. It has an area of . The blue lagoon cave holds a pool of blue water formed from underground water of the Saloba River. The main entrance is filled in part by the water. The hall contains columns over in size and in diameter. There may be archaeological remains in the cave. The park has several other limestone caves. It is covered with deciduous forests, and is home to

howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Ateles' ...

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inhabit ...

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 ...

s and

macaw Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild. Biology Of the many differe ...

History

The Gruta da Lagoa Azul State Park was created by decree 1.472 of 13 December 1999 with an area of about , including the former Gruta Lagoa Azul Reserve. On 30 May 1999 an ordinance prohibited public visits until a management plan had been prepared for the purpose of preserving the cave while allowing tourism. Law 7.369 of 20 December 2000 confirmed the decree creating the park. The Speleological Management Plan for the cave was approved on 10 February 2014. The consultative council was created on 15 December 2014.

Threats

The main threat comes from damage by tourists and local agriculture. The cave has a very fragile ecosystem, dependent on constant temperature and humidity. Increased CO₂ from the visitors' breath and heat from their lights can encourage fungus and lichens to attack the

speleothem A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depending on ...

s. Damage includes broken speleothems, carvings and writing on the walls. Local residents are aware that the cave has been quite badly vandalised, and that it is a valuable tourist attraction. They were in favour of closing the cave until a plan could be prepared to prevent further management.

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Location

History

Threats

Notes

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Further reading