Serra do Mar
| Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 |
|
| Location | Brazil |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, ix, x |
| Reference | 893 |
| UNESCO region | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1999 (23rd Session) |
Serra do Mar ([ˈsɛʁɐ du ˈmaɾ], Portuguese for Sea's ridge or Sea ridge) is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil.
The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state of Espírito Santo to southern Santa Catarina, although some literature includes Serra Geral in the Serra do Mar, in which case the range would extend to northeastern Rio Grande do Sul.
The main escarpment forms the boundary between the sea-level littoral and the inland plateau (planalto), which has a mean altitude of 500 to 1,300 metres (1,600 to 4,300 ft). This escarpment is part of the Great Escarpment that runs along much of the eastern coast of Brazil south from the city of Salvador, Bahia.
The mountain ranges are discontinuous in several places and are given individual names such as Serra de Bocaina, Serra de Paranapiacaba, Serra Negra, Serra dos Órgãos, Serra do Indaiá, etc. The range also extends to some large islands near the coastline, such as Ilhabela and Ilha Anchieta. With an altitude of 2,255 metres (7,398 ft), in Nova Friburgo is among the highest points in Serra do Mar.
Geologically, the range belongs to the massive crystalline rock platform that forms Eastern South America, and tectonically it is very stable. Most of the elevations of Serra do Mar were formed about 60 million years ago.
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