VISTA - SOUTH AMERICA PART TWO

11. Jericoacoara National Park (Brazil)

Jeri [ Photo by Otávio Nogueira / CC BY 2.0 ]

The word Jericoacoara comes from Tupi (an indigenous language) and means "house of turtles." It is a city of Ceará, a state renowned for its natural beauty, wildlife and many landscapes. Jericoacoara is a location with favorable conditions for windsurfing and sandboarding. Jericoacoara is an environmental protection area since 1984, and National Park since 2002 to protect and preserve the natural beauty. A fact of some historical significance is the report of Vicente Yanes Pizone (Captain of Nau Nina, the fleet of Christopher Columbus), which anchored in the bay of Jericoacoara in 1499. But this was not official at the time as a result of the Treaty of Tordesillas, which was signed in the same year. (based on awikipedia article / cc by-sa)

12. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Brazil)

View from the top of the dune in the path to the Lagoa Bonita [ Photo by Vitor 1234 / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

The Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses) is located in Maranhão state, in northeastern Brazil. It is an area of low, flat, occasionally flooded land, overlaid with large, discrete sand dunes. It encompasses roughly 1000 square kilometers, and despite abundant rain, supports almost no vegetation. The park was created on June 2, 1981. It was featured in the Brazilian film The House of Sand. Most recently, it was featured in the song "Kadhal Anukkal" from the Indian film, Enthiran. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

13. Mount Roraima (Brazil)

Mt.Roraima in Guyana High Land. [ Photo by Yosemite / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Mount Roraima (also known as Roraima Tepui or Cerro Roraima in Spanish, and Monte Roraima in Portuguese), is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepui plateau in South America.:156 First described by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in 1596, its 31 km2 summit area:156 is defended by 400-metre-tall cliffs on all sides. The mountain includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana.:156 Mount Roraima lies on the Guiana Shield in the southeastern corner of Venezuela's 30000 km2 Canaima National Park forming the highest peak of Guyana's Highland Range. The tabletop mountains of the park are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to some two billion years ago in the Precambrian Era. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

14. São Joaquim National Park (Brazil)

São Joaquim National Park [ Photo by Arthur Boppré / CC BY 2.0 ]

San Joaquim National Park is a national park of Brazil. It was originally set aside to preserve exceptional remnant forests of Parana pine, Araucaria angustifolia, but is now also popular for alpinism. (based on a wikipedia article /cc by-sa)

15. Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil)

Serra da Canastra National Park (Parque Nacional da Serra da Canastra), Minas Gerais state, Brazil. [ Photo by JAIRO BD / CC BY 2.0 ]

The Serra da Canastra National Park (Parque Nacional da Serra da Canastra) is located in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

16. Serra da Capivara National Park (Brazil)

Serra da Capivara National Park [ Photo by Cleude / public domain ]

Serra da Capivara National Park is a national park in the north east of Brazil. It has many prehistoric paintings. The park was created to protect the prehistoric artifacts and paintings found there. It became a World Heritage Site in 1991. Its head archaeologist is Niède Guidon. Its best known archaeological site is Pedra Furada. It is located in southeast state of Piauí, between latitudes 8° 26' 50" and 8° 54' 23" south and longitudes 42° 19' 47" and 42° 45' 51" west. It falls within the municipal areas of São Raimundo Nonato, São João do Piauí, Coronel José Dias and Canto do Buriti. It has an area of 1291.4 square kilometres (319,000 acres). The area has the largest concentration of prehistoric small farms in the Americas (North, Central and South). (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

17. Serra dos Órgãos (Brazil)

Dedo de Deus mountain (God's finger), as seen from Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. This mountain is situated in Guapimirim city. A view of gnaissic pre-cambrian mountain. [ Photo by Eurico Zimbres FGEL/UERJ / CC BY-SA 2.5 ]

Serra dos Órgãos ("Organs Range", "Range of the Organs") is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was turned into a national park in 1939. It is located about a one-hour drive from the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Serra dos Órgãos National Park was created in 1939 as the third national park in Brazil. The objective was to protect the native forest on the hillsides and the fresh water springs abundant in the region. When created the park occupied land previously controlled by four municipalities: Petrópolis, Teresópolis, Guapimirim and Magé. The origin of the unusual name is credited to early Portuguese settlers who thought the ensemble of the hill tops resembled the pipes of organs in European cathedrals. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

18. Vale do Catimbau National Park (Brazil)

Parque Nacional da Serra do Catimbau [ Photo by marcodede / CC BY 2.0 ]

Vale do Catimbau National Park is a national park of Brazil. Located at the city of Buíque in the state of Pernambuco. The Catimbau Valley or Vale do Catimbau in Portuguese it is Brazil 2nd largest archeological site. Among its natural attractions, are beautiful canyons, over 2,000 caves, and 28 registered areas with pre-historical cave paintings. The Brazilian federal government has listed the valley as a Unit of Integral Conservation and Preservation. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

19. Archipiélago de Juan Fernández National Park (Chile)

Chile, Juan Fernandez, view from a boat to Robinson Crusoe. [ Photo by Serpentus / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Archipiélago de Juan Fernández National Park is a national park located 667 kilometres west of Chile's mainland port of San Antonio, in the Juan Fernández Archipelago. The park covers 96 square kilometres and comprises the islands: Santa Clara, Alejandro Selkirk and the most part of the Robinson Crusoe Island. (based on a wikipediaarticle / cc by-sa)

20. Bernardo O'Higgins National Park (Chile)

Numerous streams tumble over the cliffs into the sound in fine cascades. [ Photo by Guglielmo Celata / CC BY-SA 2.0 ]

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park is the largest of the protected areas in Chile, covering an area of 35,259 km2 (13,614 sq mi) in both the Aisén and Magallanes and Antártica Chilena regions. The park is named after General Bernardo O'Higgins, first head of state of the Republic of Chile. Los Glaciares National Park (Argentina) and Torres del Paine National Park are its neighbours to the east, Laguna San Rafael National Park is located to the north, the Alacalufes National Reserve to the southwest and the Katalalixar National Reserve to the northwest. In June 2007 it was announced that between March and May 2007 all the water within a glacial lake located within the park had disappeared, leaving behind a 100-foot-deep crater. Only some blocks of ice, previously floating on the lake, remained behind on the crater floor. (based on awikipedia article / cc by-sa)