State Park of Costa do Sol in Rio de Janeiro

Araruama, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Cacti, bromeliads and twisted branches are part of the vegetation, which also has lush flowers. The fauna is very rich, but most of the animals in the region have nocturnal habits. Costa do Sol State Park, created in 2011 to preserve the remnants of Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlantica) in the Lake District (Regiao dos Lagos), on the northern coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Park is a permanent protection area, with 9841 hectares, divided into 4 sectors occupying areas in the cities of Araruama, Armação dos Buzios, Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio, Saquarema and Sao Pedro da Aldeia, all in the Region of the Lakes, surrounding the Araruama Lake, the largest hypersaline lagoon in the world, with salinity level around 52% (equivalent to 1.5 times the salinity of the sea). The predominant vegetation is the restinga and dunes. The Costa do Sol State Park has areas with ponds, lagoons and sea. This is the first environmental Park of Brazil to have areas that are fragmented by already urbanized regions. The Ranger challenge is to preserve what remains of the Atlantic Forest in the region and prevent real estate speculation to occupy areas that are under protection of the Park. Image made on 12.08.2016, in the area of the park that makes up the Restinga Massambaba, between the cities of Ararurama and Arraial do Cabo. (Photo by Luiz Souza/NurPhoto via Getty Images)