The Caverna do Maroaga Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental Caverna do Maroaga) is an environmental protection area in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It contains caves and waterfalls that have tourist potential if the infrastructure were provided.

Location

The Caverna do Maroaga Environmental Protection Area is in the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas. It has an area of . The APA protects the southwest shore of the reservoir of the Balbina Dam, covering the area between highway

BR-174 BR-174 is a federal highway of Brazil. The road connects Cáceres to Pacaraima on the Venezuelan border. It is the only road connection of the state of Roraima with the rest of the country. 458 kilometres are under construction, and there is n ...

and the reservoir, and including land on both sides of the AM-240 highway that leads from BR-174 to the dam structure in the south. The

Uatumã River The Uatumã River (sometimes spelled Uatamã) is a river flowing through the state of Amazonas in Brazil. It is a northern tributary of the Amazon River, and known for its extensive peacock bass population. It is a blackwater river. The river f ...

, which drains the dam, forms the eastern boundary of the APA. The

Uatumã Biological Reserve Uatumã Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica do Uatumã) is a Biological reserve around the river Uatumã in the state of Amazonas in Brazil. Location The Uatumã Biological Reserve is divided between the municipalities of Urucará (3 ...

protects the land on the northeast side of the reservoir. The APA adjoins the

Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory The Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory ( pt, Terra Indígena Waimiri Atroari) is an indigenous territory in the states of Amazonas and Roraima, Brazil. There has been a long history of violent conflict between the indigenous Waimiri-Atroari peo ...

to the north. The APA includes parts of the basins of the Urubu, Uatumã and Abonari rivers, and contains two sub-tributaries of the Pardo River, the Canoas and Canastra streams. The

Rio Urubu State Forest The Rio Urubu State Forest ( pt, Floresta Estadual do Rio Urubu) is a state forest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Location The Rio Urubu State Forest is in the municipality of Rio Preto da Eva, Amazonas. It has an areas of . The forest is ab ...

is to the south of the APA.

History

The Caverna do Maroaga Environmental Protection Area (APA) was created by state decree 12.836 of 9 March 1990. The APA was created to preserve the speleological heritage of the municipality, with or without direct use by tourists. The boundaries were adjusted by decree 16.364 of 7 December 1994. It became part of the

Central Amazon Ecological Corridor The Central Amazon Ecological Corridor ( pt, Corredor Ecológico Central da Amazônia) is an ecological corridor in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, that connects a number of conservation units in the Amazon rainforest. The objective is to maintain ...

, established in 2002. The deliberative council was created on 1 January 2009, and its regulations were approved on 18 January 2010.

Environment

The caves in the area are in the oldest geological formation of the north of the Brazilian Amazon. The cave that gives the APA its name is itself named after a Waimiri-Atroari leader who is said to have taken refuge there in the 1960s during construction of

. There is evidence of prehistoric people in the Maroaga cave. Vegetation is dense rainforest with emergent trees typical of terra firma. There is also open campina forest and igapó forest. 96% of the vegetation is dense rainforest, 3% open rainforest and 1%

campinarana Campinarana (NT0158, ), also called Rio Negro Campinarana, is a neotropical ecoregion in the Amazon biome of the north west of Brazil and the east of Colombia that contains vegetation adapted to extremely poor soil. It includes savanna, scrub a ...

-rainforest contact. Flora include species of orchids and bromeliads. There is a diverse vertebrate fauna including Guyanan red howler (''Alouatta macconnelli''),

red-handed tamarin The golden-handed tamarin (''Saguinus midas''), also known as the red-handed tamarin or Midas tamarin, is a New World monkey belonging to the family Callitrichidae. Distribution and habitat This species is native to wooded areas north of the A ...

(''Saguinus midas''),

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

(''Panthera onca''),

margay The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wildlife ...

(''Leopardus wiedii''),

neotropical otter The Neotropical otter or Neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is an otter species found in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which ...

(''Lontra longicaudis''),

giant otter The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of musteli ...

(''Pteronura brasiliensis''), harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') and

Guianan cock-of-the-rock The Guianan cock-of-the-rock (''Rupicola rupicola'') is a species of cotinga, a passerine bird from South America. It is about in length and weighs about . It is found in tropical rainforests, near its preferred habitat of rocky outcrops. The ...

(''Rupicola rupicola''). The Guianan cock-of-the-rock is prized by wildlife traffickers. The APA is notable for many species of bats.

Economy

There are about 42 communities in the APA. Agriculture is the main economic activity, including cultivation of banana, cassava, cocoa, rice, corn, cupuaçu and guaraná. Other economic activities include cattle raising, logging, fishing and crafts for the Manaus market. Commercially valuable tree species such as '' Hymenolobium petraeum'', bay, cedar and mahogany are used in construction and furniture manufacturing. The many waterfalls and caves in the APA make it attractive to tourists. The Porteira waterfall is a natural tourist attraction. There is no security, surveillance, lodgings or restaurants near the waterfalls that form the main tourist attractions, and some environmental damage is caused by the visitors.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caverna do Maroaga Environmental Protection Area Environmental protection areas of Brazil Protected areas of Amazonas (Brazilian state) 1990 establishments in Brazil