Pedra da Boca State Park
| Pedra da Boca State Park | |
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| Parque Estadual da Pedra da Boca | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Pedra da Boca and Pedra da Caveira seen from Pedra do Lagarto
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| Nearest city | Araruna, Paraíba |
| Coordinates | 6°27′25″S 35°40′33″W / 6.456893°S 35.675847°WCoordinates: 6°27′25″S 35°40′33″W / 6.456893°S 35.675847°W |
| Area | 160 hectares (400 acres) |
| Designation | State park |
| Created | 7 February 2000 |
The Pedra da Boca State Park (Portuguese: Parque Estadual da Pedra da Boca) is a state park in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. It contains a group of unusual rocky outcrops surrounded by cerrado vegetation. One of the rocks has a large collection of prehistoric rock paintings, and is also a site of religious services for devotees of Our Lady of Fátima.
The Pedra da Boca State Park is in the municipality of Araruna, Paraíba, in the Curimataú Oriental microregion. It has an area of 157.3 hectares (389 acres) on the border with Rio Grande do Norte. It is 170 kilometres (110 mi) from João Pessoa, the state capital, and 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the town of Araruna. It lies in the foothills between the Serra da Confusão and the Serra de Araruna. The park is in the basin of the Calabouço River, an intermittent tributary of the Curimataú River that forms the border between Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte and is an important source of water for the local population.
The Pedra da Boca State Park was created by state governor José Targino Maranhão by decree 20.889 of 7 February 2000. Soon after the park was created the land was expropriated and families living in the park were compensated.
The Köppen climate classification is Bsh: semi-arid, hot and dry, with a short rainy season in the autumn and winter. Annual rainfall is 800 to 1,100 millimetres (31 to 43 in). Temperatures range from 25 to 27 °C (77 to 81 °F). The vegetation is in the caatinga biome. Vegetation includes primitive shrubs and trees, with small remnants of montane forest. It has been strongly affected by extraction of wood, cattle grazing and agriculture. The water resources of the Calabouço basin have been badly managed. The riparian forest is devastated, the soil is impoverished and the river bed is silted.
There is significant biodiversity, with an estimated 21 species of reptiles and amphibians, 16 of mammals and 125 of plants. The main species of flora are Anadenanthera peregrina, Myracrodruon urundeuva, Syagrus comosa, Ficus species, Hymenaea courbaril, Tocoyena brasiliensis, Ziziphus joazeiro, Libidibia ferrea, Mimosa acustitipula, Mimosa tenuiflora, Chloroleucon foliolosum, Bromelia laciniosa, Cereus jamacaru, Bauhinia cheilanta, Combretum leprosum, Erythrina velutina, Guazuma ulmifolia, Handroanthus chrysotrichus, Talisia esculenta, Sisalana perrine, Spondias tuberosa, Pilosocereus gounellei, Aspidosperma pyrifolium, Melocactus bahiensis, Schinopsis brasiliensis, Spondias tuberosa, Croton sincorensis and Pilosocereus squamosus.
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