A Landscape Built by the Sea
The Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park protects a 44-kilometer-long stretch of sandy coastline. This unique environment, known as a "restinga," is a geologically recent formation, built over the last 120,000 years by the accumulation of marine sediments. The park is the only one in Brazil dedicated exclusively to preserving this type of coastal sand plain ecosystem. Its entire area of 14,922 hectares is a mix of different habitats, from creeping vegetation near the ocean to patches of forest and shrubland further inland.
The foundation of this ecosystem is quartz-rich sand, which creates nutrient-poor and acidic soils. Plants that survive here are specialists, adapted to high salinity and intense sun and constant wind. The landscape features a series of parallel sand ridges that mark ancient shorelines. Between these ridges lie 18 coastal lagoons, which vary dramatically in their chemical composition, from freshwater to hypersaline. This variation in water chemistry creates distinct micro-habitats, contributing to the park's overall biodiversity. The name "Jurubatiba" itself comes from the Tupi-Guarani language, meaning "place of many jerivá palms."