Gruta do Janelão (MG-199) is a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cave located inside the Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park, in the municipality of

Januária Januária is a municipality in northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is located on the left bank of the São Francisco River. The population was 67,852 inhabitants (IBGE 2020) and the area of the municipality was 6,691 km2 (2007). Muni ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

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 ...

. This cave is the largest in the valley, totaling 4,740 m of horizontal extension and elevation of 176m. Because it has several skylights letting the sun in, small forests that resemble Japanese gardens by the delicacy and harmony are formed everywhere, all by the banks of the

Peruaçu River The Peruaçu River is a river of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. See also * List of rivers of Minas Gerais References Mapfrom Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transport ...

which runs through the Janelão grotto. It has the largest stalactite already registered measuring 28 meters long.

Geology

In the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais, the left bank of the Rio Sao Francisco shows a set of caves and archaeological sites with cave paintings scattered on a ten feet wall which stand out in bold and striking colors and a doline is the big window through which a panoramic view over the entrance of the cave and its first two of many skylights that would spread over the next 3.5 km of the path with interesting

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

and

stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...

formations appearing along the way,. The Peruaçu river runs throughout the internal area of the cave and is also a major attraction. The vegetation outside the cave is lushy with trees measuring up to 60 meters tall.

References

External links

Base de Dados do Ministério do Meio Ambiente
Governo Federal - ICMBIO Official Website Caves of Minas Gerais Wild caves {{Caving-stub