Iguaçu National Park
Iguaçu National Park (Portuguese pronunciation: [iɡwaˈsu]) is a national park in Paraná State, Brazil. It comprises a total area of 185,262.5 hectares (457,794 acres) and a length of about 420 kilometres (260 mi), 300 kilometres (190 mi) of which are natural borders by bodies of water and the Brazilian and Argentinean sides together comprise around 260,000 hectares (640,000 acres).[1] Iguaçu National Park was created by federal decree nr. 1035 of January 10, 1939, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The park is managed by Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).[2][3]
The park shares with Iguazú National Park in Argentina one of the world’s largest and most impressive waterfalls, extending over some 2,700 metres (8,900 ft). It is home to many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, among them the giant otter and the giant anteater. The clouds of spray produced by the waterfall are conducive to the growth of lush vegetation.
Tourism
The area of the park open for visitation and where the concession areas of Cataratas do Iguaçú S/A are located, accounts for approximately 0.3% of the total area of the park.
The most spectacular sightseeing of the park is the Iguaçú Falls, which form a 2,700m wide semicircle, while the water falls from a height of 72m. The number of waterfalls ranges from 150 and 300 depending on the Iguaçú river flow. Besides the exuberant waterfalls, there are other attractions such as rich fauna, the Poço Preto (the Black Well), the Macuco Waterfall, the Visitors Center, the Santos Dumont Statue, a homage paid by VASP (a defunct airline company) to the "Father of Aviation", who lent all his prestige and efforts in turning the falls area into a National Park.The park received 1,550,700 visitors (2014)
