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Chapada Diamantina National Park Facts

Chapada Diamantina National Park Facts
Chapada Diamantina National Park is a 375.950 acre park located in Bahia, Brazil, encompassing portions of Andarai, Ibicoara, Lencois, Mucege, and Palmeiras municipalities. Chapada Diamantina is a plateau located in central Bahia, and the national park is located in the eastern region of the plateau. The park was created in 1985 and is classified as an IUCN protested area category II. Its purpose is to protect the natural ecosystems and to provide an opportunity for tourism, recreation, education, and research. The landscape of Chapada Diamantina National Park is rugged, with cliffs, escarpments and rivers as well as waterfalls and grassy valleys.
Interesting Chapada Diamantina National Park Facts:
One of the men who helped to convince the government to create Chapada Diamantina National Park, in an effort to preserve the region's ecosystem and to curb the diamond mining was Roy Funch, a biologist.
Gold and diamonds have been found in Chapada Diamantina National Park's region which was a main reason for the park's creation as mining was destroying the environment and destroying the wildlife population.
The majority of the flora in Chapada Diamantina is part of the Caatinga biome, which includes small thorny trees, grasses, flowering annual plants, and is characterized by having only two seasons. Caatinga covers approximately 10% of Brazil's land.
The highest point in Chapada Diamantina National Park is Pico do Barbado, at 6,680 feet. It is also the highest point in the state of Bahia.
The plateau of Chapada Diamantina forms a watershed that drains into De Contas River, Paraguacu River, and Sao Francisco River.
In Chapada Diamantina National Park there is a flooded cave called Poco Azul (or Blue Well). When explorers ventured into the cave they made a discovery of roughly 40 different animal species' bones. Many of the bones were from species that are now extinct.
One of the species of animals discovered in Poco Azul was a creature roughly the size of an elephant, called a Megatherium.
Chapada Diamantina National Park does not have a great deal of infrastructure. It is difficult to reach interior portions by public transportation but it is a popular park for backpackers and campers. It is possible to camp in small caves for free.
Some of the protected birds that can be found in Chapada Diamantina National Park include the Chaco eagle, the white-necked hawk, the Bahia spinetail, the Bahia tyrannulet, and the ochre marked parakeet.
Protected mammal species that can be found in Chapada Diamantina National Park include the jaguar, giant armadillo, giant anteater, the cougar, and Barbara Brown's titi.
The hummingbird known as the hooded visorbearer is endemic to Chapada Diamantina National Park.
Chapada Diamantina is also referred to as Brazil's 'Lost World', consisting of underground caves and water systems, red rock mesas, and canyons and caverns.
Visitors to Chapada Diamantina National Park can enjoy hiking, swimming, biking, canoeing, horseback riding, and diving.
The most popular swimming holes in Chapada Diamantina National Park include Sossego waterfall, Ribeirao do Meio rock slide, and Fumaca waterfall, once considered to be Brazil's tallest waterfall until a later discovery in the Amazon took the record.


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