The Serra do Mar (; ) is a system of

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

s and

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

s in

Southeastern Brazil The Southeast Region of Brazil ( ) is composed of the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo State, São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 53% of t ...

Geography

The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

coast from the state of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

to southern Santa Catarina,Angulo, R. J., G. C. Lessa, M. C. de Souza (2009). ''The Holocene Barrier Systems of Paranaguá and Northern Santa Catarina Coasts, Southern Brazil.'' Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences 107: 135-176. although some literature includes the Serra Geral in the Serra do Mar, in which case the range would extend to northeastern

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

. The main escarpment forms the boundary between the sea-level

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

and the inland

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

('' planalto''), which has a mean altitude of . This escarpment is part of the Great Escarpment that runs along much of the eastern coast of Brazil south from the city of

Salvador, Bahia Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...

Mountain ranges

The mountain ranges are discontinuous in several places and are given individual names such as Serra de Bocaina, Serra de Paranapiacaba, Serra Negra,

Serra dos Órgãos The Serra dos Órgãos ("Organ Range") is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It contains the Serra dos Órgãos National Park. Location The Serra dos Órgãos is the name of the region of the Serra do Mar in the central ...

, Serra do Indaiá, etc. The range also extends to some large islands near the coastline, such as

Ilhabela Ilhabela (Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the ...

and Ilha Anchieta. With an altitude of , Pico da Caledônia in

Nova Friburgo Nova Friburgo (; ; ), commonly referred to as just Friburgo, is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil. It is located in the mountainous region, in th ...

is among the highest points in Serra do Mar. Geologically, the range belongs to the massive crystalline rock platform that forms Eastern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and

tectonically Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

it is very stable. Most of the elevations of Serra do Mar were formed about 60 million years ago.

Natural history

At the time of the European discovery of Brazil (1500), the Serra do Mar supported a rich and highly diversified ecosystem, composed mainly of lush tropical

rain forest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

, called '' Atlantic Forest'' (''Mata Atlântica''). Due to

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

and

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

, however, most of the forest cover has been destroyed and what little cover remains is almost exclusively on the steep escarpments facing the sea. A chain of national and

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

s, ecological stations and biological reserves now protect the Mata Atlântica and its biological heritage, but

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists b ...

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

, poachers, clandestine loggers,

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), dese ...

s, and encroachment by urban areas and farms are still causing active destruction, particularly in the areas around cities. Several large metropolises, such as Vale do Itajaí,

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

are near the ''Serra do Mar''.

Reforestation Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purpose ...

and recuperation of biological diversity are notoriously difficult to bring about in destroyed rainforest habitats.

References

External links

Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves
UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Serra Do Mar Mar, Serra do Atlantic Forest Escarpments Landforms of Espírito Santo Landforms of Rio de Janeiro (state) Landforms of São Paulo (state) Landforms of Santa Catarina (state) World Heritage Sites in Brazil

Geography

Mountain ranges

Natural history

See also

References

External links