The National Park of Jaú
About
The National Park of Jaú The Park is situated in the lowland plateau in the Western Amazon and North of Amazon state, it is one of the largest National Park in Brazil and in Latin America. It is 2,272,000 hectares in size and 1,250 km of perimeter. It was created on 24th September 1980. It is of paramount importance in ecological terms for its high endemism and richness of its wild flora and fauna. Part of the Park area constitutes of varzea denominated as Pluvial Lowland .Terra firme (formlands)is divided in two: (1) large flat tops separated by shallow valleys occupying the largest area, and (2) small hills on a higher level. There are small areas which are flattened by sand sediments in the Park central part. Open Forest is predominant throughout represented by either Tidal Flat Open Palm Forest especially in varzeas (wet lands) alongside Jau and Carabinani rivers, or Tidal Flat Canopy Dense Forests. In the tidal flat areas, frequently flooded, alongside the Carabinani and Jau rivers there are a great number of palm trees such as paxiúbas (Iriarte spp), cabbage palm (Euterpe oleraceae) and Jauaria (Astrocaryon spp). In older tidal areas, rarely flooded, the predominant palms are miriti and carana (Mauritia spp). Many other tree species are found in the Park area, some of them with commercial value such as Brazilnut tree (Bertholletia excelsa) and sucupira (Bowdichia virgilioides) and others.
