Campo de Perizes

Campo de Perizes is an extensive fluvial-marine plain, with halophilous floodplain grasslands, located between the cities of São Luís, Bacabeira, and Rosário, in the Golfão Maranhense region.

Geography

The Golfão and Baixada Maranhense region was shaped by successive movements of marine transgression and regression over thousands of years.

The Mosquitos Strait separates the island of Upaon-Açu from the continent and connects the Bays of São Marcos and São José/Arraial. Over it, the Marcelino Machado Bridge was built, consisting of an entrance bridge and an exit bridge; the Benedito Leite Metallic Bridge, belonging to the São Luís-Teresina Railway; the duplicated bridge of the Carajás Railway; and the metallic bridge that supports the Italuís water main, which takes water from the Itapecuru River to the city of São Luís.

The coast of Maranhão is marked by the presence of mangroves; a plant formation of arboreal or shrubby size, adapted to marshy terrain, subject to the direct influence of tides and salinity. It is adapted to the brackish environment, at the outfall of rivers into the sea, where specialized vegetation grows, with a rich variety of aquatic species.

In areas contiguous to the mangroves, especially in the Golfão Maranhense region, there are extensive flat areas, subject to periodic flooding and with a predominantly herbaceous stratum, locally called Campo de Perizes. Some of the existing species are the piri or piripiri (Cyperus giganteus), which inspired the place's name; the aturiá (Machaerium lunatum); canarana (Panicum spp); as well as reeds from the Cyperaceae family.

The Perizes River flows through the region, which is also close to the outfalls of the Itapecuru River (to the east) and the Mearim River (to the west). Some consider the Perizes field to be part of the Baixada Maranhense region.