The Brasília National Park (), also known as Água Mineral, is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

located in the northwest of the

Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

and in the center of the state of

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, in the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The park covers an area of , with territory distributed by the administrative regions of Brazlândia,

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

and Sobradinho, in the

and by the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Padre Bernardo Padre Bernardo is a municipality located in the state of Goiás, Brazil. Location Padre Bernardo is located 42 km north of the boundary with the Federal District. It has boundaries with the following municipalities: *North: Mimoso de Goiá ...

, in

. It is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). It is the largest park in an urbanized area in the world.

History

The creation of the park, on November 29, 1961, was under Federal Decree of Brazil covering an area of (initially was proposed) extending over an elevation range of . It is under

IUCN Category II IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is part ...

. It is directly related to the development of Brasília. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the park was protected to provide forested area around the national capital of Brazil. In 1994, seventy percent of the park burned.

Geography

The park is in the northwest of the

in the center-west region of Brazil. Its boundaries have been fixed and also fenced. The park is divided into Intangible, Primitive, Extensive, Intensive, Special and Recuperation zones from the development perspective. The terrain is an undulating plateau with geological formations of

quartzites Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectoni ...

and

limestones Limestone is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Limestone forms when these ...

. It has many caves and several springs. Apart from the springs, the source of water supply to the park is also through a reservoir. The most prominent features of the park are the pools formed from water wells. Several creeks flow through the park, including the Bananal, Torto, and Santa Maria Creeks. Because of the large number of springs, its nickname is ''Agua Mineral'' (mineral water); the water is reported to have healing properties. There are many trekking trails through the park.

Climate

The climate of the region, according to the

Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

, is "tropical savanna". The rainy season begins in October and ends in April, representing 84% of the annual total. The wettest quarter is from November to January, and December is the month with the highest rainfall of the year. The

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

is from May to September, and in the driest quarter is June, July, and August, when precipitation represents only 2% of the annual total. In terms of total annual average rainfall,

varies between . The park itself has an average annual

rainfall Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. ...

incidence of . Average annual

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

reported is . Eastern winds are dominant in the park.

Flora

Cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

or upland savanna trees, the dominant vegetation in the central regions of Brazil, form the core area of this park. However, the vegetation around the springs and streams are of Campo Cerrado type, which consists of

gallery forests A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

. These areas fall under the

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

declared by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. The plant species reported from the park are buriti palm and many species of the ''

Velloziaceae Velloziaceae is a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Pandanales. Relationships and evolution By contrast to oth ...

'' (a family of

monocotyledonous Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but with various ranks an ...

flowering plants. The park has established a forest tree nursery and also runs a centre for environmental education.

Fauna

The faunal species reported from the park are:

maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of a red fox, but it is neither a fox nor ...

(''Chrysocyon brachyurus''),

pampas deer The Pampas deer (''Ozotoceros bezoarticus'') is a species of deer that live in the grasslands of South America at low elevations.Geist, Valerius. Deer of the world their evolution, behaviour, and ecology'. Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books, 1998 ...

(''Ozotoceros bezoarticus''),

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an Insectivore, insectivorous mammal native to Central America, Central and South America. It is the largest of the four living species of anteaters, which are classified with sloths in the or ...

(''Myrmecophaga tridactyla''),

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 described by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossils ...

(''Speothos venaticus''),

giant otter The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of mustel ...

(''Pteronura brasiliensis''),

giant armadillo The giant armadillo (''Priodontes maximus''), colloquially ''tatu-canastra'', ''tatou'', ''ocarro'' or ''tatú carreta'', is the largest living species of armadillo (although their extinct relatives, the Glyptodontidae, glyptodonts, were much l ...

(''Priodontes giganteus''), black howler monkey (''Alouatta caraya''), forest rabbit (''

Sylvilagus brasiliensis The common tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis''), also known as the Brazilian cottontail, forest cottontail, or (formerly) simply tapeti is a species of cottontail rabbit. It is small to medium-sized with a small, dark tail, short hind feet, and s ...

''), '' Juscelinomys candangus'', cavy (''

Galea spixii Spix's yellow-toothed cavy (''Galea spixii'') is a rodent, a cavy species from South America. It is found in Bolivia east of the Andes and much of south central to northeastern Brazil. The species is found in open savanna and semiarid habitats, ...

''), '' Calhartes burrovianus urubutinga'',

Mussurana Mussurana can refer to the following snake genera: * '' Mussurana'' * '' Clelia'' * '' Boiruna'' {{Short pages monitor Snake common names ...

(''Portuguese muçurana'') and tegu ''(Tupinambis teguixin)''. Also reported are

black-tufted marmoset The black-tufted marmoset (''Callithrix penicillata'') is a species of New World monkey that lives primarily in the Neotropical gallery forests of the Brazilian Central Plateau. It ranges from Bahia to Paraná, and as far inland as Goiás, betwe ...

(''Callithrix penicillata''),

capybara The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

, wild pig and puma. Birds include

greater rhea The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese (language), Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní lang ...

(''Rhea americana''),

red-legged seriema The red-legged seriema (''Cariama cristata''), also known as the crested cariama and crested seriema, is a mostly predatory terrestrial bird in the seriema family ( Cariamidae), included in the Gruiformes in the old polyphyletic circumscription ...

''(Cariama cristata)'',

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

''(Pandion haliaetus)'',

king vulture The king vulture (''Sarcoramphus papa'') is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mex ...

(''Sarcoramphus papa''), solitary eagle (''Buteogallus coronatus''), seed finches, '' Oryzoborus'' '' crassirostris'', '' O. angloensis'', spotted

tinamou Tinamous () are members of the order Tinamiformes (), and family Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamily, subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" comes from the Carib la ...

('' Nothura maculosa''),

lesser yellow-headed vulture The lesser yellow-headed vulture (''Cathartes burrovianus'') also known as the savannah vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the greater yellow-headed vulture unt ...

(''Cathartes burrovianus''), curl-crested jay (''Cyanocorax cristatellus''), fer-de-lance (''

Bothrops jararaca ''Bothrops jararaca''—known as the ''jararaca'' or ''yarara''—is a highly venomous pit viper species endemic to South America in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. The specific name, ''jararaca'', is derived from Old Tupi '' � ...

''),

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in gra ...

(''Athene cunicularia''), and

toco toucan The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco'') is a species of bird in the toucan Family (biology), family Ramphastidae. It is the largest species of toucan and has a distinctive appearance, with a black body, a white throat, chest and uppertail-Covert ( ...

(''Ramphastos toco'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brasilia National Park National parks of Brazil Protected areas of the Federal District (Brazil) Cerrado