Refugio Carapá is a biological reserve in the Department of Canindeyú, Paraguay, on the right bank of 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 ...

. It is one of eight sites earmarked as an ecological reserve near the Itaipu Dam, one of the largest dams in the world, located between Paraguay and Brazil. The reserve is north of the Ciudad del Este. It was founded in 1984 and is .

Geography

Refugio Carapá is surrounded by mountains and land with very steep slopes. The soils are

latosol Latosols, also known as tropical red earth, are soils found under tropical rainforests which have a relatively high content of iron and aluminium oxides. They are typically classified as oxisols (USDA soil taxonomy) or ferralsols (World Reference B ...

, textured red clay.

Weather

The weather is humid and warm, typical of the sub mesothermal humid tropics. Annual precipitation of . The drainage basin of the

Carapá River The Carapá River is a river of Paraguay. See also *List of rivers of Paraguay This is a list of rivers in Paraguay. By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name ...

is composed of several tributaries that arise in different parts of the Department of Canindeyu in Paraguay.

Animals and plants

The vegetation of the refuge is composed of associations of forest high, low forest, swamps, high camp, camp low, primitive forest and forest near the river. The dominant species are composed of '' Tabebuia'', '' Peltophorum dubium'', and ''

Cedrela fissilis ''Cedrela fissilis'' is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae. It is native to Central and South America, where it is distributed from Costa Rica to Argentina.Lontra longicaudis The Neotropical otter or Neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is an otter species found in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which ...

'') and collared peccary. Among the carnivores, '' Felis'' has experienced territorial displacement. Of all the species recorded in the area of Itaipu dam, 61.4% belong to the area of the Carapá River.

Infrastructure and use of refuge

The refuge has a structure where researchers and technicians live full-time. Objectives of the refuge include: * Study of the environmental situation in the drainage basin of the Carapá River * Study of mammals, birds, and fish * Study of plants * Study of physical and chemical conditions of water * Study of climatic conditions * Soil studies * Social aspects * Analysis and classification of the ecosystem for its operating framework within conservation

Itaipu Lake

This reserve bordering the lake was artificially created by Itaipu in 1982. A series of economic initiatives are beginning to be exploited by the 77 neighboring municipalities. The artificial lake is one of the largest in the world, with and extension in a straight line. Including the bays and inlets, it extends . The formation of the lake has not only changed the look of the geographic region. Agriculture, the regional economic base, is being replaced by tourism. Several artificial beaches were created along the banks of the lake, where people participate in water sports.

Area divisions

Refugio Carapá is divided into distinct zones following techniques for managing protected areas. *Areas of special use: essential for administration, including offices, accommodation, restaurants, aviation runway, and so on. They are reduced in size. *Extensive use zone: areas where visitors access education, recreation, and self-guided interpretive trails. *Intensive zones: these have outstanding scenery and lend themselves to relatively dense recreational activities, such as camping areas, visitors' centers, and scenic lookouts. *Buffer zones and recovery: areas that have been severely damaged, mostly those adjacent to the surrounding populations. *Core zone: natural areas that have received a minimum of human disruption, with three distinct nuclei, and characteristic of the place. The reserve has a panoramic viewpoint, from which can be seen most of the wooded area, as well as the vast body of water formed by the dam.

References

* Che Retá Paraguay

External links

Carapá: un refugio con más de 300 especies de animales
Itaipu Binacional
Sub-bacia do Rio Carapá
Itaipu Binacional
Important Bird Areas factsheet: Refugio Carapá
BirdLife International {{DEFAULTSORT:Refugio Carapa Tourism in Paraguay Protected areas of Paraguay Canindeyú Department