The Urugua-í Provincial Park ( es, Parque Provincial Urugua-í) is a

Provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to t ...

in the

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes ...

in the northeast of Argentina. It protects an area of Alto Paraná Atlantic forests in the upper basin of the Urugua-í River.

Location

The Urugua-í Provincial Park is in the north of Misiones Province, Argentina, divided between the municipalities of Comandante Andresito,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and

Bernardo de Irigoyen Bernardo de Irigoyen (December 18, 1822 – December 27, 1906) was an Argentine lawyer, diplomat and politician. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, Irigoyen enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires and earned a ''juris doctor'' in 1843. He was ...

. It adjoins the southeast corner of the

Iguazú National Park The Iguazú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Iguazú) is a national park of Argentina, located in the Iguazú Department, in the north of the province of Misiones, Argentine Mesopotamia. It has an area of . History The area of the park ...

. It has an area of . This makes it the third largest protected area of the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests after Argentina's Iguazú National Park and Brazil's Iguaçu National Park. The Sierra de la Victoria crosses part of the park. The Urugua-í River flows through the southern part of the park in a southeast – northwest direction and is impounded by the Urugua-í Dam to the west of the park.

History

A nature reserve was created in the area of the present park by decree 1.539 on 1982 with an area of . It was Argentina's first nature reserve. In 1988 provincial decree 339 annexed an additional . The present Urugua-í Provincial Park was created by provincial law 2.794 of 5 October 1990 to protect the ecosystem of the Urugua-í River basin. It compensates for the flooding of of the lower Urugua-í River basin caused by construction of the Urugua-í Dam. The park would be part of the proposed Trinational Biodiversity Corridor, which aims to provide forest connections between conservation units in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina in the Upper Paraná ecoregion.

Environment

The terrain is gently rolling in the west, with more mountainous land in the north and east where it approaches the Sierra de la Victoria, which crosses the north-southeast part of the park and forms a watershed between the Iguazu and Urugua-í rivers. The climate is subtropical rainy, with no dry season. There are five months when frosts occur. Average annual precipitation along the Urugua-í varies from at its mouth to near the town of Bernardo de Irigoyen. The park has a wide range of vegetation types in the valleys and mountains, including some remnants of Araucaria angustifolia in the southwest. 44 species of fish have been recorded, of which 6 are endemic to one of the two river basins. There are 32 species of amphibians and 29 species of reptiles. Mammals total 77 species in 26 families. These include

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecophag ...

(''Myrmecophaga tridactyla''),

tufted capuchin The tufted capuchin (''Sapajus apella''), also known as brown capuchin, black-capped capuchin, or pin monkey is a New World primate from South America and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. As traditionally defined, it is one of th ...

(''Sapajus apella''), jaguar (''Panthera onca''),

bush dog The bush dog (''Speothos venaticus'') is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first identified by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossi ...

(''Speothos venaticus''),

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 "bushco ...

(''Tapirus terrestris''),

white-lipped peccary The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance to ...

(''Tayassu pecari'') and

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ...

(''Pecari tajacu''). There are about 20 globally threatened and 20 near-threatened vertebrates. There are 261 species of insects, 130 of butterflies. 346 bird species have been recorded, although some are dubious. Species include

bare-faced curassow The bare-faced curassow (''Crax fasciolata'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, curassows, etc. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, and eastern Bolivia, and extreme northeast Argentina, in the cerrado, pantanal, an ...

(''Crax fasciolata''), blue-winged macaw (''Primolius maracana''),

blue-bellied parrot The blue-bellied parrot or purple-bellied parrot (''Triclaria malachitacea'') is the only species in its genus. It is generally considered endemic to the humid Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, but there are two unconfirmed records from Mi ...

(''Triclaria malachitacea''),

red-spectacled amazon The red-spectacled amazon (''Amazona pretrei'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowla ...

(''Amazona pretrei''), purple-winged ground dove (''Claravis geoffroyi''), Temminck's seedeater (''Sporophila falcirostris''),

Brazilian merganser The Brazilian merganser (''Mergus octosetaceus'') is a South American diving duck in the Mergus genus. It is one of the six most threatened waterfowl in the world, with possibly fewer than 250 birds in the wild and a few kept in captivity in ...

(''Mergus octosetaceus''), grey-bellied hawk (''Accipiter poliogaster''),

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 ...

(''Harpia harpyja'') and canebrake groundcreeper (''Clibanornis dendrocolaptoides''). The park is an important site for conserving the

black-fronted piping guan The black-fronted piping guan or jacutinga in Brazilian Portuguese (''Pipile jacutinga'') is a bird in the chachalaca, guan, and curassow family Cracidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.del Hoyo, J., G. M. Kirwan, and C. J. Sha ...

(''Pipile jacutinga'') in Argentina.

Facilities

The Uruzu Ranger Station is the park's headquarters, accessible via Provincial Route 19 and staffed with rangers. It has a visitor center, trails, camping areas, electricity and drinking water. Visitors may follow interpretive trails, watch birds, and observe the tracks and specimens of animals. The Route 101 Ranger Station is accessible via National Route 101. It is a small camping area with electricity and drinking water.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Urugua-i Provincial Park Parks in Argentina 1990 establishments in Argentina Protected areas of Misiones Province Provincial Parks in Argentina Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest