Pontões Capixabas Natural Monument, Natural monument in Águia Branca, Brazil.
The Pontões Capixabas Natural Monument is a 17,443-hectare protected area in the Atlantic Forest biome, spanning the municipalities of Pancas and Águia Branca in Espírito Santo. Its terrain includes the Serra da Mantiqueira escarpment and part of the Jequitinhonha-Pardo plateau, with altitudes from 120 to 1,000 metres. The unit holds a remnant of dense rainforest and is drained by streams of the Pancas River watershed.
The area was created as Pontões Capixabas National Park by decree on 19 December 2002, the same year it joined the Central Atlantic Forest Ecological Corridor. Law 11.686 of 2 June 2008 changed its designation to natural monument, IUCN category III, to protect the rocky formations, their flora and fauna, and the landscape. It is run by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).
The name "Pontões Capixabas" combines pontões, the Portuguese word for the large rounded rock outcrops that dominate the unit, with capixabas, the term for people and things from Espírito Santo. The monument lies in the municipalities of Pancas and Águia Branca, and its stated purpose is to protect the rocky features together with their flora, fauna and landscape.
Visitors can explore the area through walking and observation, but should check access requirements and conditions before arriving. The location is remote and requires preparation for visits of any length.
The unit's stated purpose is to protect its rocky formations together with the flora, fauna and landscape around them. Among the protected animals is the cougar (Puma concolor), a species the sources record for the monument; no jaguar is mentioned. The reserve lies in the Atlantic Forest biome and keeps a remnant of dense rainforest.
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