Agulhas Negras Peak ( pt, Pico das Agulhas Negras, , ) is the fifth-highest mountain in

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 ...

, standing at above sea level, making it one of the highest in the

Brazilian Highlands The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau ( pt, Planalto Brasileiro) are an extensive geographical region, covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all approximately half of the country's land area, or some 4,5 ...

.IBGE Pontos Culminantes
/ref> It is located in

Itatiaia National Park Itatiaia National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional do Itatiaia), established in 1937, is the oldest national park in Brazil. It is located on the border between the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. Location The Itatiaia National Park is the ...

, in the Mantiqueira range, on the border of the states of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and

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 ...

. It is the highest point in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the third-highest in Minas Gerais, and the second-highest in the Mantiqueira range. The climb to the top was first attempted by Franklin Massena in 1856. Further attempts were made 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 ...

in 1878 and by Horácio de Carvalho in 1898, but the summit was only reached by Carlos Spierling and Osvaldo Leal in 1919.DOCUMENTAÇÃO DE IMAGENS DE MONTANHA - PARTE 4 IMAGENS BRASILEIRAS - Blog do Dubois
/ref>

Etymology

Its name means Black Needles Peak, because of the sharp dark rocks on its top, which give it a distinctive shape. The peak's massif is known as ''Itatiaia'', which means "stone with many sharp points" in the

Tupi language Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi (also spelled as Tupí) is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. It belongs to the ...

. The highest rock, with the summit, is known as ''Itatiaiaçu'', or simply ''Açu'' (a Tupi suffix meaning "big") among Brazilian mountaineers.

Geography

Agulhas Negras Peak can be seen to the northwest of Resende when driving between

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 ...

and

on the

Via Dutra The Rodovia Presidente Dutra, (BR-116 – or SP-060 in the state of São Paulo), colloquially known as Via Dutra is a federal highway which runs through the eastern part of the state of São Paulo and southwestern region of the state of Rio ...

highway, but this is only possible at a few points on the road, because a lower mountain range closer to the road stands in the line-of-sight at most other nearby spots. A mountain shelter called Abrigo Rebouças is located near the base of the peak, at an elevation of about . It is accessible by a gravel road (BR-485) from the BR-354 federal highway at the Garganta do Registro mountain pass, via

's north entrance. The access road reaches an altitude of at the entrance of the park, and a short spur from it leading to a communications tower of the

Eletrobras Furnas Eletrobras Furnas (Furnas – Centrais Elétricas SA) is a regional power utility and a major subsidiary of Eletrobras. The company generates or transmits electricity to 51% of households in Brazil and more than 40% of the nation's electricity pass ...

electricity company reaches ; these are the highest points one can reach in a regular car (as opposed to off-road vehicles) in Brazil.

Climate

Elevation measurements

For years, Agulhas Negras was thought to be the highest mountain in Brazil. The title later went to

Pico da Bandeira Pico da Bandeira, or Bandeira Peak (Portuguese for ''Flag Peak'', ) is the third highest mountain in Brazil, situated on the border of Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais states. It is the highest point in both states. It was historically consider ...

, in the

Caparaó Caparaó is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Zona da Mata and to the microregion of Manhuaçu. The elevation of the city is 843m. As of 2020, the estimated population was 5,451. ...

range between the states of Minas Gerais and

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

(now known to be at ). In 1965, it was found that

Pico da Neblina Pico da Neblina (, literally translatable to ''Mist Peak'') is the highest peak in Brazil, above sea level, in the Serra da Neblina, part of the Serra do Imeri, a section of the Guiana Highlands on the Brazil-Venezuela border. As determine ...

, in the state of Amazonas, was, in fact, the highest, with a currently revised height of . Even then, Agulhas Negras was still thought to be the highest point in the Mantiqueira range, until a 2001 GPS measurement (later confirmed by an official joint expedition of the Brazilian Army and the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics - IBGE) showed that nearby

Pedra da Mina Pedra da Mina () is the fourth highest mountain in Brazil, located in the Serra Fina section of the Mantiqueira Mountains, one of the country's most important mountain ranges. The mountain stands on the border of the states of Minas Gerais and ...

was that mountain range's highest point at , about seven metres higher than Agulhas Negras. Pedra da Mina was higher even though Agulhas Negras was also found to be slightly higher than previously thought, at , rather than its previous official altitude of . Agulhas Negras remains the highest point in the state of Rio de Janeiro. In 2015, IBGE completed a new and more accurate mapping of the Brazilian territory regarding the

geoid The geoid () is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is extended ...

, the irregular imaginary surface based on the Earth's gravitational field that is the reference for altitude measurements. This led the institution to recalculate the altitude of the mountains measured in the earlier project, according to the new reference. The new data were published in February 2016. Agulhas Negras was then found to stand at , a difference of 61 cm or about two feet.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pico Das Agulhas Negras Mountains of Brazil Highest points of Brazilian states Bornhardts Landforms of Minas Gerais Landforms of Rio de Janeiro (state)