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The Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses) is located in Maranhão state, in northeastern Brazil, just east of the Baía de São José, between 02º19’—02º45’ S and 42º44’—43º29’ W. It is an area of low, flat, occasionally flooded land, overlaid with large, discrete sand dunes. It encompasses roughly 1000 square kilometers, and despite abundant rain, supports almost no vegetation. The park was created on June 2, 1981. It was featured in the Brazilian film The House of Sand.

Composed of large, white, sweeping dunes, at first glance Lençóis Maranhenses looks like an archetypal desert. In fact it isn't actually a desert. Lying just outside the amazon basin, the region is subject to a regular rain season during the beginning of the year. The rains cause a peculiar phenomenon: freshwater collects in the valleys between sand dunes, spotting the desert with blue and green lagoons that reach their fullest between July and September.

The area is also surprisingly home to a variety of fish which, despite the almost complete disappearance of the lagoons during the dry season, have their eggs brought from the sea by birds.

Credits: Wikipedia


All Rights Reserved: Lucas Vieira Copyright. Use in any form is forbiden without the written permission of the photographer.

Direitos Autorais Reservados: A presente fotografia é obra intelectual protegida pela lei 9610/98 sendo proibida a reprodução por qualquer meio sem a prévia autorização por escrito do autor. Favor contatar Lucas Vieira.

Photo Information
  • Copyright: Lucas Vieira (lucasgalodoido) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4592 W: 185 N: 5245] (16789)
  • Genre: Places
  • Medium: Color
  • Date Taken: 2009-01-03
  • Categories: Nature
  • Camera: Samsung Pro815
  • Exposure: f/4.6, 1/320 seconds
  • More Photo Info: view
  • Map: view
  • Photo Version: Original Version
  • Date Submitted: 2009-07-08 16:20
Viewed: 974
Points: 80
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