The Serra do Rola-Moça State Park () is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

in the state of

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. It protects a rugged area in the transition zone between

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 ...

and Atlantic Forest. Springs in the park are important to the water supply of the state capital,

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

Location

The Serra do Rola-Moça State Park is in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, divided between the municipalities of Belo Horizonte,

Nova Lima Nova Lima is a municipality of about 87,000 people, whose downtown is located about 20 kilometers south of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the south-eastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Mining is one of the main economical activities of the c ...

Ibirité Ibirité is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte. Its population in 2020 was 182,153. History Ibirité was bor ...

and Brumadinho. It has an area of . It contains six important springs that supply water to the city, and this area is closed to the public.

History

The Serra do Rola-Moça State Park was created by governor Hélio Garcia by decree 36.071 of 27 September 1994. The Taboão, Rola-Moça, Barreirinho, Barreiro, Mutuca and Catarina water basins in the park protect the water sources used by the Minas Gerais Sanitation Company (COPASA/MG). Activities such as leisure and tourism that may interfere with biota in these areas were therefore prohibited, and the areas were administered by COPASA/MG. The State Forestry Institute (IEF) was made responsible for overall administration of the park and for developing plans for administration and environmental education. The consultative council included representatives of government and civil society organizations.

Environment

The park is in the transition zone between

and Atlantic Forest. It contains areas of Atlantic Forest, cerrado,

Alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

and rupestrian ferruginous fields. The ferruginous field vegetation, growing on the iron-bearing "''canga''" crust, is extremely rare and is found only in the iron quadrilateral of Minas Gerais and in the Carajás Mountains in the state of

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

. Visits to these fields are allowed only when accompanied by park monitors. The park has diverse flora with species of the

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

families and

jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ' ...

arnica ''Arnica'' is a genus of perennial plant, perennial, herbaceous plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The genus name ''Arnica'' may be derived from the Greek language, Greek ''wikt:arni, arni'', "lamb", in reference to the plants' soft, h ...

and

cedrus ''Cedrus'', with the common English name cedar, is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae (subfamily Abietoideae). They are native to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitud ...

genera. Species include ''

Cariniana legalis ''Cariniana legalis'' is a species of emergent rainforest tree in the Monkeypot family Lecythidaceae. It is found in the Atlantic forest of south-eastern Brazil, where is known as jequitibá-branco or jequitibá-rosa, and possibly found in Co ...

'', '' Gochnatia polymorpha'' and '' Vellozia squamata''. The park provides a refuge for endangered fauna such as the

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

(''Puma concolor''),

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...

(''Leopardus pardalis''),

oncilla The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...

(''Leopardus tigrinus''),

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'') and

solitary tinamou The solitary tinamou (''Tinamus solitarius'') is a species of paleognath ground bird. This species is native to Atlantic forest of eastern Brazil. Taxonomy All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also ratites. U ...

(''Tinamus solitarius'').

Visiting

The park is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm daily. Camping is not allowed. Access to trails, springs, waterfalls and nurseries requires advance scheduling. At the Nova Lima entrance there is a visitor center with an auditorium for 90 people, meeting rooms and rooms for the environmental police. At the Barreiro entrance in Belo Horizonte there is an auditorium for 60 people, offices, employee residences and the base of the environmental police. The park has hiking trails and lookouts. The Três Pedras, Planeta, Jatobá and Morro dos Veados lookouts provide panoramic views. The best time to visit is between April and October, when there is less rain.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serra do Rola-Moça State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1994 1994 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Minas Gerais