The Juqueri State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Juqueri) 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. It protects one of the last remnants of

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 ...

in the São Paulo metropolitan region, as well as areas of

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

. In August 2021 a fire burnt half of the Land of the park.

Location

The Juqueri State Park is in the municipality of

Franco da Rocha Franco da Rocha is a municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 156,492 (2020 est.) in an area of 132.78 km². The suburban city is served by CPTM Line 7 (Ruby). The munici ...

, from

Praça da Sé Praça da Sé (English: ''See Square'') is a public space in São Paulo, Brazil. Considered as the city's central point, it is the point from where the distance of all roads passing through São Paulo are counted. The square was the location of man ...

in the center of

. It has an area of . The highest point has an altitude of . The park is named after a common plant found on the banks of the rivers of the region, called yu-kery by the indigenous people, who extracted salt from it to season their food. The plant is also known as "Sleeping Mary". When touched, it closes its leaves for a while.

History

The area was a ranch, Fazenda Juquery, when it was acquired in 1895 by São Paulo state, under the direction of governor José Alves de Cerqueira César. The state then built the Juquery Psychiatric Hospital, designed by the architect

Ramos de Azevedo Francisco de Paula Ramos de Azevedo (8 December 1851 — 13 June 1928) was a Brazilian architect, known for designing various buildings and landmarks in São Paulo, such as the Teatro Municipal, the Mercado Municipal and the Pinacoteca. He was o ...

, and the Juquery Agricultural Colony. In 1989 the architectural complex, the collection of documents and the green area of the Fazenda Juquery were registered by the Council for Protection of the Historical, Archaeological, Artistic and Tourist Heritage of the State of São Paulo (CONDEPHAAT). The Juqueri State Park was created in June 1993 through Decree No. 36,859 to conserve important remnants of native vegetation and to preserve the water sources of the Cantareira System. 12 of 20 square kilometer of the park burnt in August 2021. The fire has been caused by a

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...

and extinguished by 100 firemen.

Environment

The park contains one of the last remnants of

in the São Paulo metropolitan region, as well as areas of

. It is home to diverse flora and fauna. The park is threatened by wildfires and invasion by exotic species such as North American pines and Mexican agaves. The park is increasingly surrounded by urban areas. The Serra da Cantareira Forest Reserve is nearby, but the corridor linking the park to the reserve is not protected and may soon be urbanized, leading to

loss of biodiversity Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...

and sustainability.

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Juqueri State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1993 1993 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of São Paulo (state)