The Cantão State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Cantão) 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

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It protects the

Cantão Cantão is a tropical forest ecosystem located in the central Araguaia river basin, the southeastern edge of the Amazon biome, in the Brazilian state of Tocantins. It is one of the biologically richest areas of the eastern Amazon, with over 700 ...

wetlands, an area of igapó flooded forest in the

ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gras ...

where the

Amazon rainforest 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. ...

merges into the

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 the ...

Location

The Cantão State Park is located in the municipality of Pium, Tocantins. It has an area of . The park is bounded to the west by the

Araguaia River The Araguaia River ( pt, Rio Araguaia , Karajá: ♂ ''Berohokỹ'' eɾohoˈkə̃ ♀ ''Bèrakuhukỹ'' ɛɾakuhuˈkə̃ is one of the major rivers of Brazil though it is almost equal in volume at its confluence with the Tocantins. It has a total ...

, which forms the border with the state of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...

. The

Javaés River The Javaés River ( pt, Rio Javaés or ''Braço Menor do Rio Araguaia'', Javaé: ♂ ''Bero Biòwa'' eˈɾo bɪɔˈwa ♀ ''Bèraku Bikòwa'' ɛɾaˈku bɪkɔˈwa is a river of Tocantins state in central Brazil. It is a tributary of the Araguai ...

separates the state park from the

Araguaia National Park The Araguaia National Park (''Parque Nacional do Araguaia'') is a national park located in Tocantins state in the north of Brazil, between 09º51’—11º11’S and 49º57’—50º27’W. Bananal Island, on which the park is located, is believ ...

to the south. It is bounded by the

Ilha do Bananal / Cantão Environmental Protection Area The Ilha do Bananal / Cantão Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental Ilha do Bananal/Cantão or Leandro Environmental Protection Area is an environmental protection area in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Location The ...

to the east. The park would be in the proposed

South Amazon Ecotones Ecological Corridor The South Amazon Ecotones Ecological Corridor ( pt, Corredor Ecológico dos Ecótonos Sul-Amazônicos) is a proposed ecological corridor connecting conservation units and indigenous territories that form an ecotone, or transition between the south ...

History

The Cantão State Park was created by state law 996 of 14 July 1998 with an area of . The primary purpose is protecting fauna, flora and natural resources with tourism potential to ensure their rational, sustainable use compatible with preserving the local ecosystems. The deliberative council was created in the same law. The boundaries were altered by law 1.319 of 4 April 2002 to contain an area of . The management plan was approved on 25 August 2005. Ordnance 740 defined rules to be followed for the Projeto Quelônios for turtle conservation. The buffer zone was defined in 2005. The revised management plan was approved on 3 August 2016. As of 2016 the park was supported by the

Amazon Region Protected Areas Program The Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA; pt, Programa Áreas Protegidas da Amazônia) is a joint initiative sponsored by government and non-government agencies to expand protection of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Foundation The Amazo ...

Environment

The Cantão is a broad alluvial plain between the Araguaia River to the west and the

Coco River River Wangki in Miskitu or Río Coco, in Spanish, formerly known as the Río Segovia, Cape River, or Yara River, is a river located on the border of northern Nicaragua and southern Honduras. It is the longest river that runs entirely within the Ce ...

to the east. At one time the lower Coco was probably a meander of the Javaés, in turn a branch of the Araguaia. The region is full of abandoned channels and lakes. Floods connect the lakes in the rainy season for 2–6 months starting in October to form a single body of water, so species adapted to flooding are prevalent. The Cantão holds an ecotone between the Amazon and the cerrado, and includes species typical of both biomes. The lakes are nurseries for fish, turtles and alligators. One survey identified 317 species of birds, including the endemic

bananal antbird The bananal antbird (''Cercomacra ferdinandi'') is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is endemic to the wetlands of the central Araguaia river in Brazil, and has one of the smallest ranges of any Amazon bird. Habitat Its natura ...

(''Cercomacra ferdinandi'') and

Araguaia Spinetail The Araguaia spinetail (''Synallaxis simoni'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. The Araguaia spi ...

(''Synallaxis simoni''). There is a large population of jaguars (''Panthera onca'').

Facilities

The park has an energy supply, guardhouse, visitor center, gazebo, accommodation, parking, staff residence, dock, vehicles and boats. The park supports camping and recreation as well as scientific research. It runs various educational activities such as lectures, workshops, training courses, video shows and monitored trails.

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Instituto Araguaia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantao State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas of Tocantins 1998 establishments in Brazil