According to thereligionfaqs, the national park contains one of the last major occurrences of the original coastal rainforest in northeastern Brazil. The first Portuguese explorers landed in this area, among them Amerigo Vespucci. The forests were cleared very soon, and the coveted Brazilian wood later gave the country its name.
Coast of Discovery Rainforest Area: Facts
| Official title: | Rainforest area of the “Coast of Discovery” (Costa do Descobrimento) |
| Natural monument: | Coastal rainforest area with the Sooretama and Una nature reserves, the Pau Brasil ecology station, the Monte Pascoal, Descobrimento and Pau Brasil national parks, the Linhares forest reserve and the Veracruz-Station nature reserve, area of 1119.30 km² |
| Continent: | America |
| Country: | Brazil, Bahia and Espirito Santo |
| Location: | south of Ilhéus, between the Jucuruçu and Jequitinhoha rivers |
| Appointment: | 1999 |
| Meaning: | Example of the best preserved and largest area of coastal rainforest in northeast Brazil |
| Flora and fauna: | Rainforest with a wealth of tree species, including in northern Espirito Santo 476 species per hectare; up to 300 m primary rain forest with Pau Brasil, in the river valleys gallery forest with Psidium species and Hymenaea rubriflora; Little research on fauna, including Jaguar, ringed sloth, bristle tree prick, panther, white-faced silk monkey, 60 reptile and 40 amphibian species in the area of the Veracruz station |
Where Conqueror Cabral first entered the New World
On that historic April evening, jubilation broke out on the heavy Portuguese caravels – finally land in sight, flat, beautiful beaches, green hills and a high mountain, which was called Monte Pascoal because of Easter. The next day, fleet commander Pedro Alvares Cabral sent the first boats out, with natives running towards them. “Brown and naked, without in any way covering the pubic parts,” said the expedition writer, “they had bows and arrows in their hands.” But everyone was peaceful, had pleasant facial features and well-formed noses, was still noted. Not only are there handsome men to be seen, but “among them were four or five young women who, naked as they were, did not make a bad impression. One of them had painted one thigh from knee to buttock with that black paint. In spite of all of this, however, they are well cared for and very clean. «After so many weeks of hardship, who can blame the seafarers for being particularly interested in the Indian women and finding out enthusiastically how easy it is to hook up with them. The cliché of sensual and erotic Brazil was coined very early on – there is no sin below the equator, as an immortal Brazilian hit song said later. Did Cabral and his teams first meet Pataxò Indians back then? Only this tribe survived to this day with less than 3,000 members who continue to be discriminated against, if not even murdered. that they were primarily interested in the Indian women and enthusiastically noticed how easy it was to hook up with them. The cliché of sensual and erotic Brazil was coined very early on – there is no sin below the equator, as an immortal Brazilian hit song said later. Did Cabral and his teams first meet Pataxò Indians back then?
Land without gold and silver, the crown in Lisbon stated with disappointment. The European invaders then rushed to plunder, rob and destroy what was there, such a reddish type of wood, the »Pau Brasil« used as a dye – but it has become very rare not only on the Costa do Descobrimento. In France and Holland in particular, the Portuguese made huge profits with it and therefore shipped almost every tree. The notorious slash and burn, which is destroying the Amazon today, began around 1500 and literally paved the way into the hinterland with fire and sword. Only a few percent of those Brazilian coastal rainforests are left, but nowhere on earth is the biodiversity greater. Where the colonization began with the conqueror Cabral, one hectare of dense forest of the few protected areas has over 450 tree species, including Jussara palms and of course Pau Brasil, as well as orchids and lianas in abundance. The fauna has only been poorly researched – but jaguars and collar sloths are some of the region’s character animals.
Fortunately, a typical coastal resident has been saved from extinction. In a reserve near Linhares, the biologists like to be seen at work: turtle cubs and crawling, one behind the other, hatch from turtle eggs, which would previously have ended up in the pan not least because of their allegedly potency-increasing effect. to the safe sea. Previously, female leatherback turtles had dug holes in the sand and laid up to 200 eggs. The people of the region live from cattle breeding, the export of cocoa, coffee or passion fruits, but also increasingly from tourism. It literally broke into the coastal town of Porto Seguro, in whose old town you can find Brazil’s oldest church, the Igreja da Misericordia from 1526. In the high season, the devil breaks loose in the noisy lower town, in which open bars are lined up like pearls on a string. There an enterprising Frenchman saw Brazilians for the first time at a couple dance, much more exciting than samba, and quickly marketed the rhythm worldwide and with huge success – Lambada began its international triumph for some time.
