Guaporé Biological Reserve | |
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Reserva Biológica do Guaporé | |
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
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Nearest city | Cacoal, Rondônia |
Coordinates | 12°25′34″S 62°53′20″W / 12.426°S 62.889°WCoordinates: 12°25′34″S 62°53′20″W / 12.426°S 62.889°W |
Area | 615,771 hectares (1,521,600 acres) |
Created | 20 September 1982 |
Administrator | ICMBio |
Guaporé Biological Reserve (Portuguese: Reserva Biológica do Guaporé is a biological reserve in the state of Rondônia, Brazil, on the border with Bolivia.
The reserve of 615,771 hectares (1,521,600 acres) in the Amazon biome was created by decree 87,587 on 20 September 1982. The reserve is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation. It lies in the municipalities of Alta Floresta d'Oeste and São Francisco do Guaporé in the state of Rondônia. Altitude is from 132 to 495 metres (433 to 1,624 ft). Annual rainfall is 2,100 millimetres (83 in). Temperatures range from 15 to 33 °C (59 to 91 °F) with an average of 25 °C (77 °F).
The reserve lies in the Guaporé Depression, an extensive pediplain with permanent wetlands and areas subject to periodic flooding by the rivers Guaporé, São Miguel,Branco and Massaco. The rivers are in the basin of the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River. They have their origins in the southern foothills of the Chapada dos Parecis. In this area the Guaporé River forms the boundary between Brazil and Bolivia. The Guaporé and São Miguel rivers form the north west, west and south west borders and are of great importance as natural barriers against the encroachment of loggers and illegal farmers.
The Guaporé and its tributaries, the São Miguel, Branco, São Simão, Massaco and Colorado, begin to rise in October or November, fed by rainstorms, and continue to be high until March, when there is a significant reduction in water levels in the following months. Some sections of the Guaporé and its tributaries hold large floating colonies of Eichhornia (water hyacinth) species, which sometimes clog the rivers and prevent boat traffic.