A Veadeiros Plateau is a natural park located in the northeast of the Goias state. It is located in the Brazilian Central Plateau, in a region characterized by the tropical climate and the relief composed of hills and high flat land. The fauna and flora of Chapada dos Veadeiros are quite representative of the Cerrado, and many of the species found there are unique to the region and are threatened with extinction.
The Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is of great importance for the biodiversity of the Cerrado and for the region's hydrography, in addition to representing a source of income for nearby municipalities due to tourism.
Read too: Amazon — one of the most biodiverse biomes in the world
Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary about Chapada dos Veadeiros
- 2 - Location of Chapada dos Veadeiros
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3 - Characteristics of Chapada dos Veadeiros
- → Climate of Chapada dos Veadeiros
- → Fauna of Chapada dos Veadeiros
- → Vegetation and flora of Chapada dos Veadeiros
- → Relief of Chapada dos Veadeiros
- 4 - Importance of Chapada dos Veadeiros
- 5 - Tourism in Chapada dos Veadeiros
- 6 - Preservation of Chapada dos Veadeiros
Summary about Chapada dos Veadeiros
Chapada dos Veadeiros is located in the Brazilian Central Plateau, in the state of Goiás.
It was classified as a national park in 1961, being an integral preservation area.
It comprises an area of 240,611 hectares in the northeast of Goiás.
It is characterized by a tropical climate and plateau relief, with the presence of high flat land (chapadas) and hills.
It integrates the Cerrado and serves as habitat for a significant portion of the fauna and flora of this biome, in addition to being the watershed of important hydrographic basins in the region.
It is important for the conservation of the Cerrado's biodiversity and for being the source of many rivers that flow through the central region of Brazil.
It consists of a tourist attraction in the state and encourages the tertiary sector of the municipalities in which it operates.
It was listed as a Natural World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2001.
Location of Chapada dos Veadeiros
Chapada dos Veadeiros is locatedThe in the state of Goiás, in Midwest region of country. It is located in the center of the Brazilian Central Plateau and in the northeast portion of the territory of Goiás, extending between five municipalities:
Alto Paraíso de Goiás;
Cavalcante;
Teresina de Goiás;
New Rome;
Saint John of Alliance.
Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)
Features of Chapada dos Veadeiros
The area corresponding to Chapada dos Veadeiros was turned into a Pbow nnational in the year 1961, being managed today by the Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation and Biodiversity (ICMBio). When it was transformed into a conservation unit, it received the name of Parque Nacional do Tocantins, which was changed to Chapada dos Veadeiros in 1972. In addition to the name, the originally delimited area was just over three times larger than the current one, having been changed due to the construction of highways in the region.
Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park has a surface area of 240,611 hectares and extends, in the interior of the Brazilian territory, in Goiás. Check below some of the main physical characteristics of this important region.
→ Climate of Chapada dos Veadeiros
Chapada dos Veadeiros is located in an area of typically tropical climate, whose main characteristic is the alternation between a dry season and a rainy season. It should be noted that the factor altitude plays an important role in defining the weather elements, in particular from temperature.
The average temperatures in Chapada dos Veadeiros vary between 21 and 23 °C during the year, with minimums of 15 °C in the middle of the year and maximums that can exceed 28 °C in the months corresponding to the summer. The period from May to September is the dry period, when there is a decrease in the number of rainy days and a drop in air humidity. The rainy season extends from December to March, and the average annual rainfall is 1,650 mm.
→ Fauna of Chapada dos Veadeiros
Chapada dos Veadeiros hosts a wide variety of animals whose habitat is the Brazilian cerrado. Many species are threatened with extinction, and some of them are endogenous to the national territory, which reinforces the importance of their preservation. They are found in Chapada dos Veadeiros species of mammals, amphibians, birds, fish, reptiles It is insects.
Meet some of the animals found in this national park:
Some of the animals found in Chapada dos Veadeiros | ||
Jaguar |
emu |
white parrot |
giant anteater |
rook |
hummingbird bat |
bluebird |
frog |
mandi |
hoary fox |
lizard |
tweet |
→ Vegetation and flora of Chapada dos Veadeiros
The vegetation of Chapada dos Veadeiros is typical of biome Thick, being classified by ICMBio as Wwrong altitude. This vegetation formation is characterized by the great diversity of plant species, standing out among the savannas of the world, presenting the physiognomies of open fields and dense forests in a smaller proportion, in addition to the riparian forest close to the watercourses.
In Chapada dos Veadeiros there are many medium and small trees, wild fruit trees and bushes, flowers, grasses and herbs.
As well as the fauna, the local flora consists of endemic and some endangered species, due to the advance of economic activities in the region. The ICMBio mentions as examples of endangered plants present in Chapada dos Veadeiros, mastic and arnica. Other species and types of plant present in the region are the mimosa, cinnamon-de-ema, buriti, bromeliad, evergreen and calandras.
→ Relief of Chapada dos Veadeiros
Chapada dos Veadeiros located in the Central Plateau of Brazil, included in the unit classified by Jurandyr Ross|1| such as plateaus and mountains of Goiás-Minas. This area is constituted by a very old rocky substratum and greatly altered by the action of weathering agents, being characterized by the presence of flat land, hills and forms known as chapadas, which form a raised, flat-topped platform, like tables.
Importance of Chapada dos Veadeiros
Chapada dos Veadeiros is of great importance for the maintenance of biodiversity and ecological balance of the Cerrado, since it is a large protection area within this biome. The national park is characterized by high concentration of endemic and endangered species, being, for this reason, classified as a biodiversity hotspot.
The relief of Chapada dos Veadeiros makes this area a watershed between two important watersheds of the region, which are the basins of the Paraná and Maranhão rivers, in addition to harboring the springs of many watercourses and being bathed by countless other springs. Thus, Chapada dos Veadeiros is also essential for the preservation of the waters of the Brazilian Cerrado, considered the water tank in Brazil due to the concentration of springs.
Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park it also has economic importance for the state of Goiás and for the Midwest of Brazil, as a result of the tourist activity that develops in this region, as we will see below.
See too:Guarani Aquifer — one of the most important reservoirs in South America
Tourism in Chapada dos Veadeiros
The beauty of the natural landscape of Chapada dos Veadeiros, the presence of countless rivers and waterfalls, the rock formations unique and the possibility of getting to know more closely a part of the biodiversity of the Brazilian Cerrado makes the park it is one of the main attractives tourist from the state of Goiás, which is important for the promotion of tertiary sector in the municipalities where it operates, as is the case of Alto Paraíso de Goiás.
Look some of the activities and places that attract a large number of tourists to Chapada dos Veadeiros:
Waterfalls and falls, such as Cachoeira do Abismo and Saltos do Rio Preto.
Morro da Baleia, located in the famous Jardim de Maytrea. The garden, incidentally, has spiritual and religious significance for many of the visitors and local residents.
Trails, such as the Mirante da Janela Trail.
Moon Valley, formed by basaltic rocks that give a very peculiar appearance to the local relief.
Preservation of Chapada dos Veadeiros
Chapada dos Veadeiros is classified as a national park which, according to the Brazilian Forestry Code, designates a area great ecosystem importance and landscape and which must be protected in full. The importance of preserving Chapada dos Veadeiros for the environment and for maintaining biodiversity was recognized by Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), which listed the park as Patrimony Natural Worldin 2001.
Grades
|1| ROSS, Jurandyr L. Sanches. The foundations of natural geography. In: ROSS, Jurandyr L. Sanches. (Org.) Geography of Brazil. São Paulo: Publisher of the University of São Paulo, 2019. 6 ed. 3 reprint (Didactics: 3). P. 13-65.
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography Teacher
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