It protects a promontory to the east of the mouth of the Guaíba Lake where it enters the Patos Lagoon south of the state capital of Porto Alegre.

[1] Governor Euclides Triches expropriated the land for the Itapuã Tourist Complex, which was to have resorts, handicraft centers, and to be used for recreational, cultural and leisure activities.

[4] However, the state government failed to protect the ecosystem and allowed quarrying, growth of unauthorized summer settlements and uncontrolled visits, which caused protests from environmentalists, scientists and others concerned about the environment.

[6] This decree expanded the protected area to cover 5,533 hectares (13,670 acres) including the Lagoa Negra (Black Lagoon).

[1] The park was closed for over ten years to let its ecosystems recover and to build its administrative structure, and reopened in April 2002.

It preserves one of the last remnants of the original environment of the Porto Alegre metropolitan area, between the waters of Lake Guaíba and Laguna de Patos.

Fauna include the brown howler (Alouatta guariba), locally threatened with extinction, neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis), margay (Leopardus wiedii) and migratory birds such as the buff-breasted sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis) and tropical kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus).

[2] A small museum exhibits weapons and boat parts used by the combatants in the Ragamuffin War (Revolução Farroupilha) of 1835–45.

[9] There are historical relics from the war in the Morro da Fortaleza (Fortress Hill), Junco Island and the Ferraria dos Farrapos.