period of great prosperity reaching its economic peak. Five rice factories were working day and night, filling on average 10 large vessels per week. Banks were financing the business, six newspapers were circulated in the city, and France maintained a permanent consulate in the city. The population was accustomed to attending shows from Europe. At that time, Iguape was as important as Rio de Janeiro or Salvador. An ecological disaster Consequently, the city had no difficulties in obtaining the necessary resources for the construction of one of the biggest and most controversial hydraulic installations on the Brazilian coast: the "Valo Grande" channel. Aside from rice, other products from the Ribeira valley were transported by boat to a river port on the shore of the Ribeira river, close to Iguape, and from there by donkeys or carts to the ocean harbor, where they were loaded into big ships. To facilitate and cheapen transport, Iguape obtained permission from emperor D. Pedro II to build a 4 km long and 2 m wide channel, connecting the river port with the ocean port. The request was approved by D. Pedro and after hard work (by enslaved workers) the canal was concluded in 1855. While meant to improve Iguape's economic conditions, the result was disastrous. The voluminous waters of the river, now with a shorter connection to the sea, washed away the sandy banks of the river, destroying both ports. Trade collapsed, resulting in rapid economic deterioration of the region. Most people had to leave Iguape, and those who decided to stay experienced serious difficulties, surviving by fishing and shrimping, much reduced in the coastal waters due to the large influx of fresh water. Geography Location Iguape is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the delta of the Ribeira de Iguape River. The municipality contains 86% of the Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station, a strictly protected area of well-preserved Atlantic Forest created in 1986. It contains the Chauás Ecological Station, created in 1987. It also contains the Prelado State Park, created in 2006. The state park is just west of the Juréia Massif, an isolated group of mountains on the coast separated from the Serra dos Itatins by a sandy plain and the Una do Prelado River. Further east it contains 9% of the Barra do Una Sustainable Development Reserve, created in 2006. These conservation units are all part of the Juréia-Itatins Mosaic. The municipality contains