Ubajara National Park

Ubajara National Park
Parque Nacional de Ubajara
IUCN category II (national park)
Ubajara National Park

Nearest city	Sobral, Ceará
Coordinates	3°43′30″S 40°54′14″W / 3.725°S 40.904°W / -3.725; -40.904Coordinates: 3°43′30″S 40°54′14″W / 3.725°S 40.904°W / -3.725; -40.904
Area	6,271 hectares (15,500 acres)
Designation	National park
Created	30 April 1959
Administrator	ICMBio

The Ubajara National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional de Ubajara} is a national park in the state of Ceará, Brazil. It is the smallest of the 35 national parks of Brazil and is known for the Ubajara grotto.

Location

The park is in the Caatinga biome. It covers 6,271 hectares (15,500 acres). It was created by decree 45.954 of 30 April 1959, modified on 26 April 1973 and 13 December 2002. The park is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.^[1] It lies in the municipalities of Ubajara, Tianguá and Frecheirinha in Ceará.^[2]

The park is in the western edge of Ceará peripheral depression and the Ibiapaba plateau. Average annual rainfall is 1,440 millimetres (57 in). Temperatures range from 16 to 28 °C (61 to 82 °F) with an average of 22 °C (72 °F). Altitudes range from 720 to 840 metres (2,360 to 2,760 ft) above sea level.^[2] The flora include remnants of the original forest as well as secondary growth and exotics.^[2]

Conservation

The park is classified as IUCN protected area category II (national park). It has the objectives of preserving natural ecosystems of great ecological relevance and scenic beauty, enabling scientific research, environmental education, outdoors recreation and eco-tourism.^[2] Protected species in the park include the oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), cougar (Puma concolor), Maranhão red-handed howler (Alouatta ululata), the variable antshrike (Thamnophilus caerulescens) and the frogs Adelophryne baturitensis and Adelophryne maranguapensis.

Ubajara grotto

Set in a hillside in the Ibiapaba Mountains, 320 kilometres from Fortaleza, the grotto has impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations, the result of nature's patient work with limestone and water over many thousands of years - each centimetre of crystallised growth takes three years to form. Access to the grotto is by a chairlift. The park has waterfalls and paths through the forest. Visits are supervised by Ibama, the national body for environmental conservation, and must be arranged in advance. Other attractions in the Ibiapaba mountains include Morro do Céu, 820 metres high, and Pedra de Itagurussu, the source of the Pirangi waterfall.

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parque Nacional de Ubajara.

Sources

Parque Nacional de Ubajara (in Portuguese), Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, retrieved 2016-05-05
Unidade de Conservação: Parque Nacional de Ubajara (in Portuguese), MMA: Ministério do Meio Ambiente, retrieved 2016-05-05

National Parks of Brazil

Amazon	Acari Amazônia Anavilhanas Araguaia Cabo Orange Campos Amazônicos Jamanxim Jaú Juruena Mapinguari Monte Roraima Nascentes do Lago Jari Pacaás Novos Pico da Neblina Rio Novo Serra da Cutia Serra da Mocidade Serra do Divisor Serra do Pardo Tumucumaque Mountains Viruá

Atlantic Forest	Alto Cariri Aparados da Serra Araucárias Boa Nova Campos Gerais Caparaó Descobrimento Guaricana Iguaçu Itatiaia Monte Pascoal Pau Brasil Saint-Hilaire/Lange São Joaquim Serra da Bocaina Serra da Capivara Serra das Lontras Serra de Itabaiana Serra do Gandarela Serra do Itajaí Serra dos Órgãos Serra Geral Tijuca

Caatinga	Chapada Diamantina Furna Feia Serra das Confusões Sete Cidades Ubajara Catimbau

Cerrado	Brasília Cavernas do Peruaçu Chapada das Mesas Chapada dos Veadeiros Emas Grande Sertão Veredas Nascentes do Rio Parnaíba Sempre Vivas Serra da Bodoquena Serra da Canastra Serra do Cipó

Coastal Marine	Abrolhos Fernando de Noronha Ilhas dos Currais Jericoacoara Jurubatiba Sandbank Lagoa do Peixe Lençóis Maranhenses Superagui

Pantanal	Chapada dos Guimarães Ilha Grande Pantanal Matogrossense

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