The Serra do Cabral State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Serra do Cabral) 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

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 ...

, Brazil.

Location

The Serra do Cabral State Park is divided between the municipalities of

Buenópolis Buenópolis is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population was 10,353 living in a total area of 1,610 km². The city belongs to the statistical mesoregion of Central Mineira and to the sta ...

and

Joaquim Felício Joaquim Felício is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population was 4,727 living in a total area of 791 km². The city belongs to the statistical mesoregion of Central Mineira and to the ...

in Minas Gerais. It has an area of . The park is in the north-central region of the state in the Serra do Cabral range, part of the

Espinhaço Mountains The Espinhaço Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in Brazil. The range runs roughly north and south through the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, extending for approximately . It forms the divide between the upper watershed of the São Francisco ...

. Altitudes vary from . The park is on the watershed between the das Velhas and

Jequitaí Jequitaí is a Brazilian municipality located in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. In 2020 the population was 7,468 in a total area of 1,268 km2. It became a municipality in 1948.

rivers, both right tributaries of the

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon, the Paraná and t ...

. There are many waterfalls and natural pools. Springs in the park supply water to the urban areas of Buenópolis and Joaquim Felício. Vegetation includes forest and

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 ...

, including evergreens and sweet palmetto (

Euterpe edulis ''Euterpe edulis'', commonly known as juçara, jussara (an archaic alternative spelling), açaí-do-sul or palmiteiro, is a palm species in the genus '' Euterpe''. It is now predominantly used for hearts of palm. It is closely related to the aç ...

). Fauna include the threatened

South American tapir The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ''tapi'ira''), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, the ''anta'' (Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushcow ...

(''Tapirus terrestris''). The park holds many prehistoric archaeological sites. There are cave paintings representing animals in several places.

History

The Serra do Cabral State Park was created by decree 44.121 of 29 September 2005. The park became part of the

Espinhaço Mosaic The Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha – Serra do Cabral Mosaic ( pt, Mosaico do Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha - Serra do Cabral), or simply Espinhaço Mosaic, is a protected area mosaic in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Background The Espin ...

of conservation units, created in 2010. As of 2014 access to the park was restricted, since the archaeological sites were still being studied. The management plan was published in June 2015.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serra do Cabral State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 2005 2005 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Minas Gerais