Superagüi National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional de Superagüi) 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 ...

on the coast of the state of Paraná, Brazil.

Location

Created in 1998, the park has a total area of , it comprises Superagüi Island, Peças Island, Pinheiro and Pinheirinho Islands, along with the Rio dos Patos Valley and the Varadouro Channel, which separates the island from the mainland. Superagüi National Park was declared a Biosphere Reservation by UNESCO in 1991. In 1999, the park was declared a

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 ...

. The park has bays, deserted beaches, sandbanks, estuaries, mangroves and abundant Atlantic Forest formations. The park is the primary habitat of the critically endangered Superagui Lion Tamarin, and hosts many other fauna and flora characteristic of the

Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...

subregion of the

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 ...

. The conservation unit is part of the

Lagamar Mosaic The Lagamar Mosaic ( pt, Mosaico do Lagamar is a protected area mosaic that includes a number of conservation units in the states of São Paulo and Paraná, Brazil. History The Lagamar Mosaic was established by federal ordinance 150 of 8 May 20 ...

History

Evidence indicates that the area has been occupied by fishermen since time immemorial. Prior to the arrival of Europeans it was inhabited by Carijós and Tupiniquins Indians. The Portuguese settled in the area from 1500 on, did not build cities. In 1852, the Swiss consul in Rio de Janeiro, Perret Gentil, founded Supeargüi Island, one of the first European colonies in the state of Paraná, however, the colony didn't grow, and today the few villages that are within the park have only a few inhabitants, fishermen heirs of the 15 families brought by the consul to live in Superagui Island.

References

Bibliography

External links

ParksWatch: profile of Superagüi NP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Superagui National Park National parks of Brazil Protected areas of Paraná (state) Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest