Desengano State Park

Desengano State Park
Parque Estadual do Desengano
IUCN category II (national park)
Pedra do Desengano, the highest point
Nearest city	Santa Maria Madalena, Rio de Janeiro
Coordinates	21°51′56″S 41°54′04″W / 21.865508°S 41.901220°W / -21.865508; -41.901220Coordinates: 21°51′56″S 41°54′04″W / 21.865508°S 41.901220°W / -21.865508; -41.901220
Area	21,444 ha (82.80 sq mi)
Designation	State park
Created	13 April 1970
Administrator	Instituto Estadual do Ambiente RJ

The Desengano State Park (Portuguese: Parque Estadual do Desengano) is a state park in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It protects an area of rugged mountains with a large remnant of Atlantic Forest that is home to various endangered species.

The Desengano State Park has an area of 21,444 hectares (52,990 acres) divided between the municipalities of Santa Maria Madalena, São Fidélis and Campos dos Goytacazes in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Elevations range from 200 to 1,761 metres (656 to 5,778 ft). The rugged terrain includes ridges, pointed peaks, sugar loaf mountains and scarps with slopes of up to 75 degrees. Peaks include the Pico do Desengano 1,761 metres (5,778 ft), Pico São Mateus 1,576 metres (5,171 ft) and Pedra Agulha 1,080 metres (3,540 ft).

The park contains the sources of many water courses that supply settlements in the region. Waterfalls include the Vernec, Bonita and Tromba d’Água. The main rivers are the Rio Grande and its tributaries the Macapá and Santíssimo streams, the Colégio River, and the Segundo do Norte, Morumbeca, Aleluia and Mocotó rivers, tributaries of the Imbé River which feeds the Lagoa de Cima (Cima Lake). From that lake the Ururaí River flows to the Lagoa Feia.

The Desengano State Park is the oldest conservation unit in Rio de Janeiro, created on 13 April 1970 by decree-law 250. State decree 7.121 of 28 December 28, 1983, republished in the Official Gazette of the State of Rio de Janeiro on 18 January 1984, established an environmental protection area that contained the area of Desengano State Park. The park is managed by the State Environmental Institute (Inea).

The park managers try to curb hunting and deforestation in the park and its surroundings. In June 2015 they seized 35 birds and a shotgun in the town of Monte Café. In October 2015 they found evidence of illegal logging in the town of Agulha do Imbé, in the municipality of Santa Maria Madalena, and charged the owner of the land with environmental crime.