Brazil - Serra da Canastra National Park

Area: 71.525 hectares - Perimeter: 173,4 Km C/imate: Regional: transition hot tropical / temperate with 5 month dry season. Local: altitude Sub-humid Tropical - temp: 20° C year average below 1.000 m. · pluv: 1.300to 1.700 mm total /year Altitude: 900 - 1.496m. Geomorphology and hydrology: The area is made of two isolated metamorphic quartzite high plateau (Chapadao), separated by a large valley: 1. the Serra da Canastra / Chapadao da Zagaia, and: 2. the Serra das Sete Voltas. Plane or undulated highlands are isolated by cliffs, precipices and steep slopes where softer stilts and micas abruptly replace the hard quartz cover, allowing differential erosion. Hundreds of streams originating on the plateau's flow downwards in spectacular waterfalls and cascades. Sierra's, cliffs and cascade create landscapes of exceptional beauty. The Park is frontier between the Paranaiba (Parana, Plata) and Sao Fransisco river basins. Its quantity of small streams falling from the tops, form in the valleys important affluents of both rivers. On Serra da Canastra is located the highest and legitimate source of the Sao Fransisco river (1.480 m.). Its stream falls from high plateau into the valley in spectacular cascade and waterfalls, one of them 200 m high, starting its 2.700 Km course towards the ocean.