Iguaçu National Park
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Iguaçu 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 ...
in
Paraná State Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology *Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina * Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province * Paraná, Buenos Aires, a settlemen ...
,
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 ...
. It comprises a total area of and a length of about , of which are natural borders by bodies of water and the Argentine and Brazilian sides together comprise around . Iguaçu National Park was created by federal decree nr. 1035 of January 10, 1939, and became a
UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 1986. The park is managed by
Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's administrative arm."Brazilian Federal Law 11.516/2007 (Por ...
(ICMBio). The park shares a border with
Iguazú National Park The Iguazú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Iguazú) is a national park of Argentina, located in the Iguazú Department, in the north of the province of Misiones, Argentine Mesopotamia. It has an area of . History The area of the park w ...
in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
one of the world's largest waterfalls, extending over some . It is home to many rare and
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
of
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
and
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
, among them the
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 ...
and the
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 ...
. The clouds of spray produced by the waterfall are conducive to the growth of lush vegetation.


History

The Iguaçu National Park owes its name to the fact it includes an important area of the
Iguazu River __NOTOC__ The Iguazu River ( pt, Rio Iguaçu, br , es, Río Iguazú} ), also called Rio Iguassu, is a river in Brazil and Argentina. It is an important tributary of the Paraná River. The Iguazu River is long, with a drainage basin of . Cou ...
(Portuguese: Rio Iguaçu). Approximately of the length of the river makes up the Iguaçu Falls. It is the most important park of the Prata Basin and, since it is a haven to a significant genetic asset of
animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
and vegetal
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
, it was the first park in Brazil to receive a Management Plan. As foreseen by Rebouças, the park's basic goal is the preservation of the highly relevant ecologically and scenic natural ecosystems, thus enabling scientific research and the development of environmental education and interpretation activities, recreation in natural surroundings and the ecological tourism. The Iguaçu National Park is spectacular as well as pioneering. The first proposal for a Brazilian national park aimed at providing a pristine environment to "future generations", just as "it had been created by God" and endowed with "all possible preservation, from the beautiful to the sublime, from the picturesque to the awesome" and "an unmatched flora" located in the "magnificent Iguaçu waterfalls". These were the words used by
André Rebouças André Pinto Rebouças (13 January 1838 – 9 April 1898) was a Brazilian military engineer, abolitionist and inventor, son of Antônio Pereira Rebouças (1798–1880) and Carolina Pinto Rebouças. Lawyer, member of Parliament (representing the B ...
, an engineer, in his book "Provinces of Paraná, Railways to Mato Grosso and Bolivia", which started up the campaign aimed at preserving the Iguaçu Falls way back in 1876, when
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
, the first national park on the planet, was four years old. On November 17, 1986, during the
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 ...
conference held in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, the Iguaçu National Park was listed as Natural Heritage of Humanity and is one of the largest forest preservation areas in South America.


Location

In Brazil, the Park has boundaries with the following municipalities: Foz do Iguaçu, Medianeira, Matelândia, Céu Azul, São Miguel do Iguaçu, Santa Terezinha de Itaipu, Santa Tereza do Oeste, Capitão Leônidas Marque, Capanema and Serranópolis. The Park is located in the westernmost region of the state of Paraná, in the Iguaçú river basin, from downtown Foz do Iguaçú. It borders Argentina, where the Iguazu National Park, which was implemented in 1934, is located. The border between the two countries and their national parks is made by the Iguaçú river, whose source is near the Serra (mountain range) do Mar near Curitiba and runs for throughout the state of Paraná. The river estuary is located 18 km downriver from the Falls, where it flows into the Paraná river. This meeting of rivers forms the triple Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay border. Fishing regulations were published on 2 October 2008, covering conservation areas and their buffer zones in the
Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...
basin. They were the
Morro do Diabo State Park 280px, Mico Leão Preto ESEC.Large black area in yellow: Morro do Diabo PES">Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station">Mico Leão Preto ESEC.Large black area in yellow: Morro do Diabo PES The Morro do Diabo State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual Morro do Di ...
,
Rio do Peixe State Park The Rio do Peixe State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Rio do Peixe) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Location The Rio do Peixe State Park is divided between the municipalities of Dracena, Ouro Verde, Piquerobi and Presidente ...
,
Aguapeí State Park The Aguapeí State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Aguapeí) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects an area of floodplain in the Atlantic Forest biome, home to many water birds. Location The Aguapeí State Park is divided ...
,
Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station The Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica Mico Leão Preto) is an Ecological station in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects four fragments of Atlantic Forest in a region that has lost most of its forest coverage ...
,
Ivinhema State Park The Rio Ivinhema State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual das Várzeas do Rio Ivinhema) is a State park in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Location The Rio Ivinhema State Park is divided between the municipalities of Jateí (57.46%), Naviraí ...
,
Ilha Grande National Park The Ilha Grande National Park (''Parque Nacional de Ilha Grande'') is located on the border between Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul states in Brazil. The park was created in 1997 to protect the biological diversity of the upper Parana River area ...
,
Caiuá Ecological Station The Caiuá Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica do Caiuá) is an ecological station in the state of Paraná, Brazil. It was created as compensation for flooding caused by the Rosana dam on the Paranapanema River, and protects an area of ...
and Iguaçu National Park. The
Santa Maria Ecological Corridor The Santa Maria Ecological Corridor ( pt, Corredor Ecológico de Santa Maria) is an ecological corridor in the state of Paraná, Brazil. Location The Santa Maria Ecological Corridor crosses the municipalities of Santa Terezinha de Itaipu and S ...
connects the Iguaçu National Park with the protected margins of Lake Itaipu, and via these margins with the
Ilha Grande National Park The Ilha Grande National Park (''Parque Nacional de Ilha Grande'') is located on the border between Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul states in Brazil. The park was created in 1997 to protect the biological diversity of the upper Parana River area ...
. The park would be part of the proposed
Trinational Biodiversity Corridor The Trinational Biodiversity Corridor ( pt, Corredor Trinacional de Biodiversidade) is a proposed ecological corridor that would link protected areas in the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests ecoregion in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. History The p ...
, which aims to provide forest connections between conservation units in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina in the Upper Paraná ecoregion.


Tourism

The area of the park open for visitation and where the concession areas of Cataratas do Iguaçú S/A are located, accounts for approximately 0.3% of the total area of the park. The most spectacular sightseeing of the park is the Iguaçú Falls, which form a 2,700m wide semicircle, while the water falls from a height of . The number of waterfalls ranges from 150 and 300 depending on the Iguaçú river flow. Besides the exuberant waterfalls, there are other attractions such as rich fauna, the Poço Preto (the Black Well), the Macuco Waterfall, the Visitors Center, the Santos Dumont Statue, a homage paid by VASP (a defunct airline company) to the "Father of Aviation", who lent all his prestige and efforts in turning the falls area into a National Park. The park received 1,550,700 visitors in 2014.


See also

*
Iguazu Falls Iguazú Falls or Iguaçu Falls ( gn, Chororõ Yguasu , es, Cataratas del Iguazú, links=no ; pt, Cataratas do Iguaçu ) are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. ...
*
Wildlife of Brazil The wildlife of Brazil comprises all naturally occurring animals, plants, and fungi in the South American country. Home to 60% of the Amazon Rainforest, which accounts for approximately one-tenth of all ...


References


Sources

* * *


External links


Official web site

Official UNESCO website


* ww.ibama.gov.br/parna_iguacu Ibama* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iguacu National Park National parks of Brazil World Heritage Sites in Brazil Protected areas established in 1939 Protected areas of Paraná (state) 1939 establishments in Brazil World Heritage Sites in Danger Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest