Caçapava UNESCO Global Geopark


This geopark is located in the southernmost part of Brazil. It actually covers the area of the town Caçapava, after which it is named, which has about a diameter of 20 km. The geology is important for mineral resources, sulfide metals and marble. The Camaquã basin is filled with Ediacaran to Cambrian volcano-sedimentary deposits. While the geopark actually has two caves as geosites, we have not listed both of them. Both are quite interesting, but pretty hard to reach, and even the geopark strongly suggests to hire guides which are educated by the geopark. We think it’s not possible to interpret them as tourist site, even "semi-wild cave" is too much. But we want to say a few words about them nevertheless, in the context of this geopark.

Toca das Carretas (-30.611666, -53.354015) is a huge shelter, a portal with a single huge chamber behind. The rocks are horizontally layered sandstones, the cave is thus most likely an erosional cave, probably created by a meander of a river before the vale was deepened further. Now the impressive cavern lies on the flank of a hill. The cave was a filming location of the 1997 movie Anahy de las Misiones by Sérgio Silva, starring Araci Esteves, Marcos Palmeira, and Dira Paes. Based on a famous legend it tells the story of a man who "wandered through the Río de la Plata Basin during the time of the Cisplatine War (1825-1828), robbing the dead". Obviously a great movie of local fame, only available in Portuguese.

Gruta da Varzinha (-30.730254, -53.307748) is a karst cave, quite exceptional is the fact that speleothems grow in the portal almost closing the portal completely. The cave is quite interesting, as the rock is not limestone, its Lower Paleozoic sandstones and siltstones with a certain amount of carbonate components. The dissolution removed the carbonatic part of the rock, which becomes instable and the remains are eroded, transported away by flowing water. This mechanism was discovered only a few decades ago and is called SpeleologyGhost-Rock Karstification. The cave is about 70 m long.

Again, both caves are quite difficult to find, despite being declared a geosite they are not developed, there are no trails, neither in nor to the cave. They are not dangerous or difficult, just hard to find. We strongly recommend to hire a guide from the geopark website.