Espinhaço Range Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 2005, in Brazil. The Espinhaço Mountain Range is the largest and most continuous Precambrian orogenic belt in Brazil and serves as a water divide between the São Francisco River basin and the basins that drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean. It extends in a north–south direction for approximately 1,200 km, from the Belo Horizonte region to the northern border of Bahia with Pernambuco and Piauí, with a width that varies from a few kilometres to over 100 km. Along the over 1,000 km of the cordillera, alternating elevations with peaks reaching up to 2,017 metres allow for great diversity in climate and rainfall conditions.