São Joaquim National Park/SC - Brazil

São Joaquim National Park is located in the south area of the State of Santa Catarina,in the Serra Geral,among the following geographical coordinates: 49º22' to 49º39'of longitude West and 28º04' to 28º19' of latitude South. He presents an approximate area of 490.3km there is and a perimeter of 114 km, with altitudes among 350 up to 1.822 meters.The park is located among the municipal districts of Urubici (Administrative Thirst),Bom Jardim da Serra,Orleans and Grão Pará. The park was created in July 6,1961. Locally the area is divided in two areas: the known popularly as area of "mountain below",including the municipal districts of Orleans and Grão Pará,and "field in the top of the mountains",that includes the municipal districts of Urubici and Bom Jardim da Serra.  

CULTURAL ASPECTS AND HISTORICAL

With the appearance of the cycle of the wood in the decades of 50 and 60, the need of the creation of an unit appeared in the area,to preserve the araucaria forests still existentThere was a partnership between the Government of the State of Santa Catarina and IBDF for creation of São Joaquim's National Park.

The continuous forest exploration reduced to small forest fragments the area of the park,remaining the rare landscape in beauty and that annually offers an odd show in the national territory:the snow whiteness in the highest summits of the Mountain of the Sea.

Climate

The park locates in one of the few areas in that the annual medium temperature varies among 14° C to 12° C, and with snow occurrence annually

Relief

One of the interesting aspects of the Park, they are their elevations, with superior altitudes to 1800m above the sea level,as the Hill of the Church,plenty known and sought by the mountaineers.

Fauna

The fauna of São Joaquim's National Park is little varied,in consequence to their less rich vegetable formations,and mainly,due to the negative effects of the fire and of the selective illegal hunt,implicating in hunt pressure about certain species,mainly partridges and quails.

Vegetation

This Park possesses 3 vegetation types: General fields,the Forests of Araucarias,located more commonly in the hillsides and in the valleys,and the Subtropical Pluvial Forest that occupies the bottom of the valleys. The dominant species in the sceneries of the Park is it pine tree-pity-paraná(Araucaria angustifolia).They also happen the jibuia(porous Ocotea), the cinnamon-sassafrás,the caviúna and the cedar (Cedrela fissilis).