BRAZIL - Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks

Postcard sent in a direct swap by Rodrigo. 
Sent 27/02/2023.

INSCRIPTION/INSCRITO: 2004

The two sites included in the designation contain flora and fauna and key habitats that characterize the Cerrado – one of the world’s oldest and most diverse tropical ecosystems. For millennia, these sites have served as refuge for several species during periods of climate change and will be vital for maintaining the biodiversity of the Cerrado region during future climate fluctuations.The site of the Cerrado Protected Areas includes the Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks located in the Brazilian central plateau in the State of Goias. Both parks help protect the Cerrado biome, one of the oldest and most diverse ecosystems in the world.  For millennia, these sites have served as refuge for many rare and endemic species of fauna and flora, including during periods of climatic fluctuations. Both sites remain essential for maintaining the biodiversity in the Cerrado, especially in any future climate change scenario.

The flora of the Cerrado is rich. It includes between 350 and 400 species of vascular plants per hectare, including many endemic plants. The property also contains populations of large mammals, including the giant anteater, giant armadillo, maned wolf, jaguar and pampas deer, but also the rhea, the largest bird of South America. The site is also extremely important in maintaining the hydrological regime as, due to its geological features and soils, it is proving to be a key area for aquifer recharge and the alimentation of several watercourses that supply power to the Amazon basin and the Pantanal, in the basin of La Plata.

Thanks for writing the card in Portuguese, Rodrigo. It´s been a nice read!😁

BRAZIL - Pantanal Conservation Area

Postcard sent by Rodrigo_2021 in an Offer tag.

Sent 06/02/2023.

INSCRIPTION/INSCRITO: 2000

The Pantanal Conservation Area comprises a cluster of four contiguous protected areas: the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park and the Special Reserves of Acurizal, Penha and Doroche, covering a total area of 187,818 hectares. This protected area complex is located in western central Brazil, in the extreme south-west of the Mato Grosso e Mato Grosso do Sul State and the international border with Bolivia and Paraguay.

The property includes the greater part of the Amolar mountainous ridge with a maximum altitude of 900 meters. The transition between the seasonally flooded areas and the mountains is abrupt. This ecological gradient is unique to the whole Pantanal region and offers a dramatic landscape. Located between the river basins of Cuiabá and Paraguay, the site plays a key role in the spreading of nutritive materials during flooding as well as in the maintenance of fish stocks in the Pantanal. Although the property only covers a small part of the Pantanal (one of the largest wetlands of the world, covering around 14,000,000 ha), it is representative and of sufficient size to ensure the continuity of ecological processes. It also protects numerous threatened species, such as the giant armadillo, giant anteater, giant otter, marsh deer and the hyacinth macaw, the largest species of parrot. The jaguar population in the property is probably the biggest in the entire Pantanal region. The number of aquatic plant species found there is also remarkable.

Thank you so much for this card, Rodrigo ! I love this colourful card.

BRAZIL - Historic Centre of the Town of Diamantina

Postcard sent by Rafabram on a Direct Swap .

Sent- 06  de November del 2017.

INSCRIPTION/INSCRITO: 1999

Diamantina, a colonial village set like a jewel in a necklace of inhospitable rocky mountains, recalls the exploits of diamond prospectors in the 18th century and testifies to the triumph of human cultural and artistic endeavour over the environment. 
In the heart of arid and rocky mountains in north-east Minas Gerais, the Historic Center of Diamantina rises 150m up the side of a steep valley, with winding and uneven streets following the natural topography. The Baroque architecture differs from that of other Brazilian towns in being of wood, and is distinguished by its geometry and details indicating transference on a modest scale of Portuguese architectural features. Churches have similar colours and textures as civil buildings, and most have only one tower. The regularly aligned 18th and 19th century semi-detached houses with one or two floors are painted in bright colours on a white ground, and contrast with the grey flagstone paving of the streets.

The historic centre testifies to the conquest of Brazil’s interior regions, illustrating how explorers, diamond prospectors, and representatives of the Portuguese Crown forged an original culture in the 18th century, adapting their origins to the realities of the Americas. 

Thank you Rafa! 

BRAZIL - Iguaçu National Park

Postcard sent by Rafabram on a Direct Swap .

Sent- 06  de November del 2017.

INSCRIPTION/INSCRITO: 1986

The park shares with Iguazú National Park in Argentina one of the world’s largest and most impressive waterfalls, extending over some 2,700 m. 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.

Thank you Rafa! 

BRAZIL - Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea

Postal enviada por Adam (Binington) en un Direct swap.

Envío - 11 de Noviembre del 2017.

INSCRIPTION/INSCRITO: 2012

The site consists of an exceptional urban setting encompassing the key natural elements that have shaped and inspired the development of the city: from the highest points of the Tijuca National Park’s mountains down to the sea. They also include the Botanical Gardens, established in 1808, Corcovado Mountain with its celebrated statue of Christ, and the hills around Guanabara Bay, including the extensive designed landscapes along Copacabana Bay which have contributed to the outdoor living culture of this spectacular city. Rio de Janeiro is also recognized for the artistic inspiration it has provided to musicians, landscapers and urbanists.

En el sitio inscrito destaca la dimensión de la ciudad como asentamiento urbano excepcional más que el patrimonio construido que ésta contiene. Une los elementos naturales clave que han inspirado el desarrollo urbano: desde las cumbres de las montañas del Parque Nacional de Tijuca hasta el mar. Incluye también los Jardines Botánicos, creados en 1808, la cumbre del Corcovado, con su famoso Cristo, las colinas que rodean la bahía de Guanabara y los amplios paisajes de la bahía de Copacabana, escenario de la cultura viviente de esta espectacular ciudad. Con esta inscripción, se reconoce también a Río de Janeiro la inspiración artística que ha brindado a músicos, paisajistas y urbanistas.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1100

Como siempre Adam me ha sorprendido! Me ha enviado esta pintoresca postal a la que ha añadido un enrevesado trabalenguas en brasileño!

Muchas gracias Adam, me encanta la postal, es genial, como las que mandas siempre! 

BRASIL - Serra da Capivara National Park

Postal enviada por Studart a cambio de una UNESCO de España.

Envío - 17 de Agosto del 2015.

INSCRIPTION/INSCRITO: 1991

Many of the numerous rock shelters in the Serra da Capivara National Park are decorated with cave paintings, some more than 25,000 years old. They are an outstanding testimony to one of the oldest human communities of South America.

Los numerosos refugios excavados en las rocas del parque nacional de la Sierra de Capivara estí¡n decorados con pinturas rupestres. Algunas de ellas datan de 25.000 años atrí¡s y constituyen un testimonio excepcional de una de las mí¡s antiguas comunidades humanas de América del Sur.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/606

Thanks for this awesome card Studart!

BRASIL - Historic Town of Ouro Preto

Postal enviada por Studart a cambio de la Lonja de la Seda de Valencia.

Envío - 20 de Diciembre del 2016.

INSCRIPTION/INSCRITO: 1980

Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil’s golden age in the 18th century. With the exhaustion of the gold mines in the 19th century, the city’s influence declined but many churches, bridges and fountains remain as a testimony to its past prosperity and the exceptional talent of the Baroque sculptor Aleijadinho.

Fundada a finales del siglo XVII, la ciudad de Ouro Preto (Oro Negro) fue el punto de convergencia de los buscadores de oro y el centro de la explotación de minas auríferas en el Brasil del siglo XVIII. La ciudad declinó con el agotamiento de sus minas a principios del siglo XIX, pero todavía subsisten muchas iglesias, puentes y fuentes que atestiguan su pasado esplendor y el talento excepcional del escultor barroco Antonio Francisco Lisboa, “El Aleijadinho”.http://whc.unesco.org/es/list/124

Una postal fantástica, llena hasta los topes de sellos que en su mayoría representan oficios tradicionales. Gracias Studart!

Postcard 2:

Postal enviada por Rafabram (Direct swap)

Sent - 20-11-2016.