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

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

, Brazil. It protects forests in the valley of the

Tainhas River Rio Tainhas ( pt, Rio Tainhas) is a river in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a left tributary of the Das Antas River Part of the course of the river, including the Cachoeira do Passo do S, a waterfall, is protected by the Tainha ...

surrounded by open fields. The main attraction is the Cachoeira do Passo do S, a waterfall.

Location

The Tainhas State Park is divided between the municipalities of Jaquirana, São Francisco de Paula and Cambará do Sul in the northeast region of the Rio Grande do Sul. The administrative center is in São Francisco de Paula. It has an area of . It protects

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

remnants in the state, including the ecosystems of the meadows of Cima da Serra and the forests of the valley of the

. Vegetation includes forest with

araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen Conifer, coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 20 extant taxon, extant species in New Caledonia (where 14 species are endemism, ende ...

s, upland meadows and plains. The terrain includes relatively flat areas and valleys with steep slopes. As of 2016 the park was not open to visitors. The park holds the Passo do S Waterfall, in the municipality of Jaquirana, where the Tainhas River runs over an S-shaped ledge. The falls are wide and high. Hunting, fishing and camping around the falls are prohibited. When the river is low, it is possible to cross the Passo do S on horseback or on foot.

History

The Tainhas State Park was created by state decree 23.798 on 12 March 1975. It is classified as a fully protected conservation unit, allowing only indirect use of natural resources. The management plan for the park was published in September 2008. At this time there were 98 residents in 31 establishments engaged in cattle raising, family farming and forestry. The plan gives a five-year view of priority actions including land regularization, administration and recovery of degraded areas.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tainhas State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1975 1975 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Rio Grande do Sul