The Urugua-í Provincial Park () is a

Provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

in the

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...

in the northeast of Argentina. It protects an area of

Alto Paraná Atlantic forests The Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, also known as the Paraná-Paraíba interior forests, is an ecoregion of the tropical moist forests biome, and the South American Atlantic Forest biome. It is located in southern Brazil, northeastern Argentina, ...

in the upper basin of the Urugua-í River.

Location

The Urugua-í Provincial Park is in the north of Misiones Province, Argentina, divided between the municipalities of Comandante Andresito,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and

Bernardo de Irigoyen Bernardo de Irigoyen (December 18, 1822 – December 27, 1906) was an Argentine lawyer, diplomat and politician. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, Irigoyen enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires and earned a ''juris doctor'' in 1843. He was ...

. It adjoins the southeast corner of the

Iguazú National Park The Iguazú National Park () is a national park of Argentina, located in the Iguazú Department, in the north of the province of Misiones, Argentine Mesopotamia. It has an area of . History The area of the park was inhabited 10,000 years a ...

. It has an area of . This makes it the third largest protected area of the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests after Argentina's Iguazú National Park and Brazil's

Iguaçu National Park Iguaçu National Park () is a National park (Brazil), national park in Paraná State, Brazil. It comprises a total area of and a length of about , of which are natural borders by bodies of water and the Argentine and Brazilian sides together c ...

. The Sierra de la Victoria crosses part of the park. The Urugua-í River flows through the southern part of the park in a southeast – northwest direction and is impounded by the Urugua-í Dam to the west of the park.

History

A nature reserve was created in the area of the present park by decree 1.539 on 1982 with an area of . It was Argentina's first nature reserve. In 1988 provincial decree 339 annexed an additional . The present Urugua-í Provincial Park was created by provincial law 2.794 of 5 October 1990 to protect the ecosystem of the Urugua-í River basin. It compensates for the flooding of of the lower Urugua-í River basin caused by construction of the Urugua-í Dam. The park would be part of the proposed

Trinational Biodiversity Corridor The Trinational Biodiversity Corridor () is a proposed ecological corridor that would link protected areas in the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests ecoregion in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. History The proposed corridor was first discussed in 1999 ...

, which aims to provide forest connections between conservation units in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina in the Upper Paraná ecoregion.

Environment

The terrain is gently rolling in the west, with more mountainous land in the north and east where it approaches the Sierra de la Victoria, which crosses the north-southeast part of the park and forms a watershed between the Iguazu and Urugua-í rivers. The climate is subtropical rainy, with no dry season. There are five months when frosts occur. Average annual precipitation along the Urugua-í varies from at its mouth to near the town of Bernardo de Irigoyen. The park has a wide range of vegetation types in the valleys and mountains, including some remnants of

Araucaria angustifolia ''Araucaria angustifolia'', the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree (, or ), is a critically endangered species in the Pinophyta, conifer genus ''Araucaria''. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a " ...

in the southwest. 44 species of fish have been recorded, of which 6 are endemic to one of the two river basins. There are 32 species of amphibians and 29 species of reptiles. Mammals total 77 species in 26 families. These include

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''),

tufted capuchin The tufted capuchin (''Sapajus apella''), also known as brown capuchin, black-capped capuchin, or pin monkey, is a New World primate from South America and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. As traditionally defined, it is one of t ...

(''Sapajus apella''),

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 ...

(''Panthera onca''),

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''),

South American tapir The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, (Brazilian Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushcow", in mixed ...

(''Tapirus terrestris''),

white-lipped peccary The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance ...

(''Tayassu pecari'') and

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a peccary, a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Peccary, Tayassuidae found in North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the gen ...

(''Pecari tajacu''). There are about 20 globally threatened and 20 near-threatened vertebrates. There are 261 species of insects, 130 of butterflies. 346 bird species have been recorded, although some are dubious. Species include bare-faced curassow (''Crax fasciolata''),

blue-winged macaw The blue-winged macaw (''Primolius maracana''), in aviculture more commonly known as Illiger's macaw, is a species of small macaw (sometimes called a mini-macaw) found in central and eastern South America. The second name is in honor of the Germ ...

(''Primolius maracana''),

blue-bellied parrot The blue-bellied parrot or purple-bellied parrot (''Triclaria malachitacea'') is the only species in its genus. It is generally considered endemic to the humid Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, but there are two unconfirmed records from M ...

(''Triclaria malachitacea''),

red-spectacled amazon The red-spectacled amazon (''Amazona pretrei'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland ...

(''Amazona pretrei''), purple-winged ground dove (''Claravis geoffroyi''), Temminck's seedeater (''Sporophila falcirostris''),

Brazilian merganser The Brazilian merganser (''Mergus octosetaceus'') is a South American diving duck in the ''Mergus'' genus. It is one of the most threatened waterfowl species in the world, with possibly fewer than 250 birds in the wild and a small number kept ...

(''Mergus octosetaceus''), grey-bellied hawk (''Accipiter poliogaster''),

harpy eagle The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a large Neotropical realm, neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea Harpy Eagle, New Guin ...

(''Harpia harpyja'') and canebrake groundcreeper (''Clibanornis dendrocolaptoides''). The park is an important site for conserving the

black-fronted piping guan The black-fronted piping guan (''Pipile jacutinga'') or jacutinga in Brazilian Portuguese is a bird in the chachalaca, guan, and curassow family Cracidae. It is native to the Serra do Mar coastal forests, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.de ...

(''Pipile jacutinga'') in Argentina.

Facilities

The Uruzu Ranger Station is the park's headquarters, accessible via Provincial Route 19 and staffed with rangers. It has a visitor center, trails, camping areas, electricity and drinking water. Visitors may follow interpretive trails, watch birds, and observe the tracks and specimens of animals. The Route 101 Ranger Station is accessible via National Route 101. It is a small camping area with electricity and drinking water.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Urugua-i Provincial Park Parks in Argentina 1990 establishments in Argentina Protected areas of Misiones Province Provincial parks in Argentina Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest