Pedra da Mina

Pedra da Mina is Brazil's fourth highest peak, located in the Serra Fina section of the Mantiqueira Mountains, one of the country's most important mountain ranges. The mountain is located on the northern and southern borders of the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo, respectively. It is the highest point of the Mantiqueira Mountains and the state of São Paulo, with a height of 2,798 meters (9,180 feet), and the second highest mountain in the state of Minas Gerais.

In addition to being one of the highest Brazilian mountains, Pedra da Mina is notable for its unusual history, as despite its high altitude and proximity to densely populated areas, the mountain was virtually unknown until the turn of the twenty-first century, as was its exact altitude, and its significance was not recognized until very recently, demonstrating that even in the twenty-first century, geographical exploration may still hold surprises. Official statistics and schoolbooks had to be corrected in this case, and a new popular mountaineering and ecotourism destination arose.

Pedra da Mina, like the rest of Serra Fina, is made of highly alkaline nepheline syenite, a type of rock that is easily eroded and, as a result, is rarely found at very high altitudes. Pedra da Mina is thought to be the highest mountain in the Americas, if not the world, made of that type of rock.

In Portuguese, pedra means "rock"; mina usually means "mine," but it can also mean "spring, water source." So the mountain's name means "Water Spring Rock," and it comes from the fact that four small creeks rise from the mountain near the top.

Pedra da Mina is not in a national or state park, but it is within the Mantiqueira Mountains Environmental Protection Area, so it is legally protected to some extent.

Location: Between the towns of Queluz and Lavrinhas (São Paulo), and Passa Quatro (Minas Gerais), Brazil

Elevation: 2,798 m (9,180 ft)