BAHIA SPOTLIGHT: CHAPADA DIAMANTINA (DIAMOND PLATEAU)

Português: O rio da pratinha entrando na grande gruta... aguas cristalinas! Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brasil.  English: The little silver river entering the great grotto... crystalline water! Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil.

Chapada Diamantina

Chapada Diamantina is a region of Bahia state in the Northeast of Brazil.
The Chapada Diamantina has a dramatic landscape with high plains, table-top mesas, and steep cliffs or towers known as 'tepuy.' Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1800s, the only local inhabitants of the region were indigenous Indians from the Maracas and Cariris tribes.

 Chapada is a Brazilian word that means a region of steep cliffs, usually at the edge of a plateau. Diamantina
refers to the diamonds found there in the mid-19th century.

The Diamantina Tableland Region

Chapada Diamantina.

The geographical center of Bahia is the Diamantina Tableland region. In this mountainous region with a diversified topography, 90% of the rivers of the Paraguaçu, Jacuípe and Rio das Contas basins have their source here. There are thousands of kilometers of clear waters that spring from these mountains and descend in cascades and waterfalls to plateaus and plains, forming beautiful natural pools.