Costa do Sol State Park
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| Costa do Sol State Park | |
|---|---|
| Parque Estadual da Costa do Sol | |
.jpg) Arraial do Cabo | |
  | |
| Nearest city | Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro |
| Coordinates | 22°56′14″S 42°10′46″W / 22.9372°S 42.1794°W |
| Area | 9,840.90 hectares (24,317.4 acres) |
| Designation | State park |
| Created | 18 April 2011 |
The Costa do Sol State Park (Portuguese: Parque Estadual da Costa do Sol [ˈpaʁki estɐduˈaw dɐ ˈkɔstɐ du ˈsɔw], Sunshine Coast State Park) is a state park in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It protects a number of fragments of coastal areas in the Atlantic Forest biome that are under intense pressure from urban expansion, but that also have considerable tourism potential.
The Costa do Sol State Park has about 9,840.90 hectares (24,317.4 acres) divided into four sectors, each consisting of one or more separate areas. It covers lands in the municipalities of Araruama, Armação dos Búzios, Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio, Saquarema and São Pedro da Aldeia as well as parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Araruama Lagoon in the state Rio de Janeiro.[1] The Costa do Sol State Park is the first mosaic park in Brazil, made up of discontinuous protected areas.[2] In all there are 27 environmental preservation areas.[3]
The unit protects almost all of the remaining natural ecosystems of the Região dos Lagos (Lake Region), which is under intense real estate pressure.[4] More than half of the park is located in the Massambaba Environmental Protection Area, which covers Saquarema, Araruama and Arraial do Cabo. It contains several species in danger of extinction, including the passerine restinga antwren (Formicivora littoralis), rufous-legged owl (Strix rufipes), fluminense swallowtail (Parides ascanius) and skull tree iguana (Liolaemus occipitalis). There are vestiges of sambaquis, where prehistoric hunters and gatherers lived. The Lagoa Vermelha, in Saquarema, contains limestone rocks formed by microorganisms in shallow seas and lagoons, a rare phenomenon that is important in understanding evolutionary history.[3]
The park has considerable tourism potential, although as of 2015 little had been done to ensure that tourists would use the protected sites in a sustainable way. The park rangers had fought 25 fires since the park was created, seized 18 irregular buildings, prevented seven attempts at logging and 12 squatter invasions and seized 15 wild animals. However, the park did not have lodgings for park rangers or a visitor center.[4]
