Gruta das Areias

Last updated

Gruta das Areias is a complex of caverns located in the region of Lajeado, in the municipality of Iporanga, São Paulo, Brazil. It is therefore part of the Areias System, located in the southwestern part of the carbonatic area Lajeado-Bombas, on the right bank of the Betari river, in the municipality of Iporanga, southeast of the state. [1] It comprises the caves Ressurgência das Areias (SP-016), the 5.565 meter-long cave Areias de Cima (SP-018) and the Areias de Baixo (SP-019) cave, also popularly called Areias I and II. [2] It is also part of the so-called Açungui group of caverns formed between the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic, between 1.6 billion and 542 million years ago. [1]

Iporanga Municipality in Southeast, Brazil

Iporanga is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 4,333 in an area of 1152 km². The elevation is 81 m.

Brazil Federal republic in South America

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the fifth most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populated city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, and the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

Carbonate salt or ester of carbonic acid

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula of CO2−
3. The name may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C(=O)(O–)2.

Contents

Survey

Discovered in 1906 by the German naturalist Richard Krone, who visited both caves called at that time Areias do Pedroso I and Areias do Pedroso II, the cave is very important in the field of biology because of the existence of the world-famous Pimelodella kronei, the Blind-Catfish, a troglobitic fish species unique to the waters of some caves in the region. [3]

Sigismund Ernst Richard Krone naturalist

Sigismund Ernst Richard Krone was a German naturalist, zoologist, spelunker, archaeologist and researcher born on 18 June 1861 in Dresden, Germany. Having been the discoverer of the Devil's Cave in 1891, together with the Danish naturalist Peter Wilhelm Lund (1801-1880) he explored and studied the endokarst region of southeast Brazil, making both paleontological and archaeological discoveries in 41 of Iporanga's caves, which he examined between 1895-1906.

Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their physical structure, chemical processes, molecular interactions, physiological mechanisms, development and evolution. Despite the complexity of the science, there are certain unifying concepts that consolidate it into a single, coherent field. Biology recognizes the cell as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, and evolution as the engine that propels the creation and extinction of species. Living organisms are open systems that survive by transforming energy and decreasing their local entropy to maintain a stable and vital condition defined as homeostasis.

Pimelodella kronei is a species of three-barbeled catfish endemic to Brazil. Discovered by the German naturalist Sigismund Ernst Richard Krone, it was the first troglobitic fish described in Brazil, but several others have been described later.

This species of fish was later found in some creeks in the region of Bombas, [2] and invariably shaped the idea of a subterrain river connecting both caves with Ressurgencia das Areias das Aguas Quentes. A topographic survey led by Michel Le Bret took place in 1960, and again in 1968, conducted by the Sociedade Excursionista e Espeleológica de Ouro Preto. [2] On both occasions this connection between the caves Areias de Baixo and Ressurgencia das Areias das Aguas Quentes suggested by Richard Krone in 1909 could not be established. In 1974 a new attempt took place, but failed. The connection was only possible in 1975 when Pierre Martin used fluorescein dye in the stream found inside the cave Areias de Baixo. [2]

Fluorescein chemical compound

Fluorescein is a manufactured organic compound and dye. It is available as a dark orange/red powder slightly soluble in water and alcohol. It is widely used as a fluorescent tracer for many applications.

See also

Related Research Articles

Mato Grosso State of Brazil

Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third-largest by area, located in the western part of the country.

Cocalzinho de Goiás Municipality in Central-West, Brazil

Cocalzinho de Goiás is a municipality in central Goiás state, Brazil.

Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park national park of Brazil located in the Chapada dos Veadeiros, an ancient plateau with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years

Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is a national park of Brazil located in the state of Goias, on the top of an ancient plateau with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years. The park was created on January 11, 1961 by President Juscelino Kubitscheck, and listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2001. It occupies an area of 655 square kilometres (253 sq mi) in the municipalities of Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Cavalcante and Colinas do Sul. The park is maintained by Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.

The Gruta das Mercês is a cave located along the Canada das Mercês, situated in the civil parish of Feteira, municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores.

Gruta das Agulhas is a cave located along the promontory of Ponta dos Coelhos, in the Bay of Refugo, in the civil parish of Porto Judeu, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores.

Caverna da Tapagem

Caverna da Tapagem (SP-002), also Caverna do Diabo, is a cave located within the Jacupiranga State Park next to the Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, in the municipality of Eldorado Paulista, Iporanga, 280 km from São Paulo, Brazil. It is the second longest cave in the state of São Paulo and also the highlight of what the local guides call "Circuit Disneyland," which is a series of family attractions that people of all ages can enjoy.

Gruta de Maquiné cave in Brazil

Gruta de Maquiné (MG-0243), also Lapa Nova de Maquiné, is the oldest and one of the most commercially visited caves in Brazil. It is located about 5 km (3.1 mi) from Cordisburgo and 143 km (88.9 mi) northwest of Belo Horizonte, in the State of Minas Gerais. The cave has seven huge chambers explored, amounting to 650 m (2,130 ft) (linear) and unevenness of the ground of only 18 m (59 ft). Safety measures like lighting, walkways and handrails allow a multitude of visitors to enjoy safely the wonders of the grotto where the whole journey is accompanied by an experienced local guide.

Guy Christian Collet was a French scientist, explorer and spelunker who came to live in Brazil after the World War II. In the karstic region along the Ribeira valley in the State of Sao Paulo he began the exploration for caverns and grottos, becoming later founder and chairman of two speleological societies of deep respectability in the field of speleology in the country. He did work in the areas of underground biology, archeology, nutrition techniques in caves, besides having published several books and reports on the subject.

Gruta Casa de Pedra (SP-009) is a cave located in the karstic region of the Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, between the municipalities of Apiaí and Iporanga, to the south of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is 2,930 meters long and features the largest cave mouth in the world, measuring 172 meters high. It is located in the final portion of the hydrographic sub-basin of the Maximiano stream which enters the cave for about 800 meters and flows into the Iporanga River. Its name derives from the size of its portico, recognized as the world's largest.

Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park protected area in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

The Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park is a state park is the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects a mountainous area of Atlantic Forest. It is known for its many caves.

Caverna de Santana

Caverna de Santana (SP-041), also Caverna de Sant'Anna, is a cave located inside the Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, along the road connecting the towns of Apiaí and Iporanga, to the south of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Flowers' Hall, displaying thousands of flowers of aragonite, and the Taqueupa Hall as one of the many other formations of great scenic beauty found in the cave, are ranked among the most beautiful and ornated of the world.

Pierre Martin was a French engineer and spelunker who enormously contributed to mapping and researching of a multitude of caves in the states of São Paulo, Goias and Bahia, in Brazil. He was one of the founders and president of the Brazilian Speleology Society (SBE). He died in a car accident on 21 December 1986.

Abismo Ouro Grosso (SP-054), also Gruta Ouro Grosso, is a 192-metre-deep (630 ft) shaft consisting of waterfalls and natural pools. It was created by the capture of surface rivers by carbonate rocks with subterranean drainage systems in an advanced stage of evolution. First explored by the German naturalist and spelunker Michel Le Bret in the 1970s, it is located at the Nucleo Ouro Grosso, within the borders of the Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, in the municipality of Iporanga, 350 kilometres (220 mi) from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Areado Grande is the name given to a group of limestone caves located inside the Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, in the municipality of Iporanga, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. It consists of Areado Grande I (SP-077), Areado Grande II (SP-078) being 3400 meters long, Areado Grande III (SP-510) with 6004 linear meters, Areado Grande IV (SP-524), Areado Grande V (SP-525). Other caves in the region of the Areado Grande creek are Toca da Pedra Inclinada, Gruta do Toboga, Gruta do Jeep (SP-086), Gruta da Fenda (SP-087), Gruta do Baixao (SP-088), and Gruta da Cabana (SP-108).

References

  1. 1 2 Grupo Pierre Martin de Espeleologia. "Teto Baixo, Ano I, Vol. I". GPME. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Grupo Pierre Martin de Espeleologia. "Topografia das Areias de Baixo" . Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Guia de Cachoeiras. "Gruta das Areias". Guia de Cachoeiras. Retrieved 22 December 2011.

Coordinates: 24°35′22″S48°42′07″W / 24.589376°S 48.701858°W / -24.589376; -48.701858

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.