Parcel de Manuel Luís Marine State Park, Marine state park in Maranhão, Brazil.
Parcel de Manuel Luís Marine State Park is a marine protected area off the coast of Maranhão, Brazil, built around one of the largest coral reef systems in the South Atlantic. The park also holds Ramsar site status, recognizing its value as a wetland of global importance.
The park was established in 1991 to protect the coral reefs from overfishing and environmental damage. Nine years later, in 2000, it received international recognition as a Ramsar site, placing it among the world's wetlands of global concern.
The reef is named after Manuel Luís, the fisherman who discovered the rock formation in the late 19th century. The park's name honours him, and the area is known as Brazil's "Bermuda Triangle" because of its many shipwrecks. Local fishing communities have long used the reef as a natural reference point at sea.
The reef sits far offshore and can only be reached by boat, so access depends entirely on sea and weather conditions. Organized diving expeditions are the standard way to visit, and advance planning is important since departures are limited and weather windows can be short.
The reef is called Brazil's "Bermuda Triangle": over 200 ships and galleons lie wrecked here, a graveyard second only to Bermuda. The Uberaba began as the German vessel Henny Woermann, was captured by the Brazilian Navy in World War I and renamed, and its wreck now rests on the reef.
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