Serra do Mar
Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Brazil | |
---|---|
Criteria | Natural: (vii)(ix)(x) |
Reference | 893rev |
Inscription | 1999 (23rd Session) |
Area | 468,193 ha (1,807.70 sq mi) |
Buffer zone | 1,223,557 ha (4,724.18 sq mi) |
Coordinates | 24°10′S 48°0′W / 24.167°S 48.000°W |
The Serra do Mar ([ˈsɛʁɐ du ˈmaʁ], Portuguese for Sea's Ridge or Sea Ridge) is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil.
Geography
The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state of Espírito Santo to southern Santa Catarina,[1] although some literature includes the Serra Geral in the Serra do Mar, in which case the range would extend to northeastern Rio Grande do Sul.
The main escarpment forms the boundary between the sea-level
Mountain ranges
The mountain ranges are discontinuous in several places and are given individual names such as
Geologically, the range belongs to the massive
Natural history
At the time of the European discovery of Brazil (1500), the Serra do Mar supported a rich and highly diversified ecosystem, composed mainly of lush tropical
, however, most of the forest cover has been destroyed and what little cover remains is almost exclusively on the steep escarpments facing the sea.A chain of national and
Reforestation and recuperation of biological diversity are notoriously difficult to bring about in destroyed rainforest habitats.
See also
- Flora of the Atlantic Forest
- Ecoregions of the Atlantic Forest biome
- List of plants of Atlantic Forest vegetation of Brazil
Serra do Mar.
References
- ^ Angulo, R. J., G. C. Lessa, M. C. de Souza (2009). The Holocene Barrier Systems of Paranaguá and Northern Santa Catarina Coasts, Southern Brazil. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences 107: 135-176.