Xingu Indigenous Park | |
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Parque Indígena do Xingu | |
IUCN category II (national park)
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Coordinates | 11°13′55″S 53°11′06″W / 11.232°S 53.185°WCoordinates: 11°13′55″S 53°11′06″W / 11.232°S 53.185°W |
Area | 2,642,003 hectares (6,528,530 acres) |
Designation |
national park Indigenous Territory |
Created | 14 April 1961 |
Administrator | ICMBio |
The Xingu Indigenous Park (Portuguese: Parque Indígena do Xingu, pronounced [ʃĩˈɡu]) is an indigenous territory of Brazil, first created in 1961 as a national park in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Its purposes are to protect the environment and the several tribes of Xingu indigenous peoples in the area.
The Xingu Indigenous Park is in the north east of the state of Mato Grosso, in the south of the Amazon biome. It covers 2,642,003 hectares (6,528,530 acres), with savannah and drier semi-deciduous forests in the south transitioning to Amazon rain forest in the north. There is a rainy season from November to April. The headwaters of the Xingu River are in the south of the park. The area covered by the park was defined in 1961 and covers parts of the municipalities of Canarana, Paranatinga, São Félix do Araguaia, São José do Xingu, Gaúcha do Norte, Feliz Natal, Querência, União do Sul, Nova Ubiratã and Marcelândia in the state of Mato Grosso.
The national park was created after a campaign by the Villas-Bôas brothers for protection of the region. An account of the exploration of this area by the Villas-Bôas brothers and their efforts to protect the region is documented in the film Xingu (2012).