The Tumucumaque Mountains National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional Montanhas do Tumucumaque; ) is situated in the
Amazon Rainforest in the Brazilian states of
Amapá and Pará. It is bordered to the north by
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
and
Suriname.
History
Tumucumaque was declared a
national park on August 23, 2002, by the Government of Brazil, after collaboration with the
WWF.
It is part of the
Amapá Biodiversity Corridor
The Amapá Biodiversity Corridor ( pt, Corredor de Biodiversidade do Amapá) is an ecological corridor in the state of Amapá, Brazil. It provides a degree of integrated management for conservation units and other areas covering over 70% of the ...
, created in 2003.
The conservation unit is supported by the
Amazon Region Protected Areas Program. Its Management Plan was published on March 10, 2010.
Geography
Tumucumaque Mountains National Park has an area of more than , making it the world's largest tropical forest
national park and larger than
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. This area even reaches when including the bordering
Guiana Amazonian Park
Guiana Amazonian Park (french: Parc amazonien de Guyane) is the largest national park of France, aiming at protecting part of the Amazonian forest located in French Guiana which covers 41% of the region. It is the largest park in France as wel ...
, a national park in
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
.
This combination of protected areas is still smaller than the three national parks system in the Brazil-Venezuelan border, where the
Parima-Tapirapeco,
Serranía de la Neblina and
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 ...
national parks have a combined area of over .
But the latter is certainly smaller if the Tumucumaque Mountains National Park (Brazil) and the adjacent Guiana Amazonian Park (France) is combined with large neighbouring protected areas in northern Pará, Brazil, such as
Grão-Pará Ecological Station
The Grão-Pará Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica Grão-Pará is a strictly protected ecological station in the state of Pará, Brazil.
It managed by the state of Pará. With of well-preserved Amazon rainforest it is the largest fully ...
,
Maicuru Biological Reserve
The Maicuru Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica Maicuru), is a strictly protected biological reserve in the state of Pará, Brazil.
It covers of Amazon rainforest.
Location
The reserve lies between the Maicuru and Jari rivers on the ...
, and many others. The importance is that this makes the Guiana Shield one of the best protected and largest ecological corridor of tropical rainforests in the world. It is an ''uninhabited'' region and is of high ecological value: most of its animal species, mainly fish and aquatic birds, are not found in any other place in the world.
It is a
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
for
jaguars,
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...
s, aquatic
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
s, and
harpy eagle
The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea harpy eagle or Papuan harpy eagle. It is the ...
s.
The highest point of the Brazilian state of Amapá is located there, reaching 701 meters.
Climate
The climate is
tropical monsoon (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Am''), common in areas of
northern Brazil
The North Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Norte do Brasil; ) is the largest region of Brazil, corresponding to 45.27% of the national territory. It is the second least inhabited of the country, and contributes with a minor percentage in the national ...
in transition from biomes to the
Amazon Forest
The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
. It has an average temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) and accumulated rainfall ranging from 2,000 (7.87 in) to 3,250 mm (127.95 in) per year.
Tourism
Tourism in the Park takes place in two different sectors: Amapari Sector and Oiapoque Sector.
At Amaparí Sector, the Park is accessed by
Serra do Navio city (most common) or by a community in
Pedra Branca do Amapari
Pedra Branca do Amapari () (''White Stone of Amaphary''), also known simply as Amapari, is a municipality located in the midwest of the state of Amapá in Brazil. Its population is 17,067 and its area is . The municipality has a population densi ...
(usually in the summer).
The trip is made by the Amapari River, using aluminum boats (90 km from Serra do Navio) to the park's rustic base, where it is possible to stay in a camping structure adapted to Amazonian conditions (hammocks) and do activities such as trails, bathing in rivers and animal and plants watching.
At Oiapoque Sector, you can camp at Cachoeira do Anotaie, which is located on the Anotaie River, a tributary of the
Oiapoque River
The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the French overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian state of Amapá.
Course
The Oyapock runs through the Guianan moist for ...
.
This waterfall is 40 km from the city of
Oiapoque
Oiapoque () is a municipality in the north of the state of Amapá, Brazil. Its population is 27,906 and its area is . Oiapoque is also a major river in the same state, forming the international border with French Guiana. The Oyapock River Bridge, ...
, on a trip using aluminum boats. There is also the possibility to visit Vila Brasil, a community located on the right bank of the Oiapoque River and located in front of the French-Guyanese indigenous community of
Camopi
Camopi is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Camopi is mainly inhabited by Amerindians of the Wayampi and Teko tribes.
History
In 1738, a Jesuit mission opened on the river ...
.
In this location there are small hotels and it is possible to understand its socio-cultural context, where the residents, mostly traders, provide services to the indigenous people of the neighboring country.
Legacy
Mozilla Firefox code-named the beta of Firefox 4 Tumucumaque.
https://www.mozilla.org/parks/tumucumaque/
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070101171024/http://www.conservation.org/xp/frontlines/protectedareas/parkprofile24-2.xml Conservation International - Mountains of Tumucumaque Mountains National Park: Setting a New Conservation Standard]
{{authority control
2002 establishments in Brazil
National parks of Brazil
Protected areas of Amapá
Guianan savanna