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Brazilian structural provinces: An introduction

Article in Earth-Science Reviews · April 1981

DOI: 10.1016/0012-8252(81)90003-9

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Earth-Science Reviews, 17 (1981) 1--29 1
Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

Brazilian Structural Provinces: An Introduction

F.F.M. DE A L M E I D A l, y. HASUI 2, B.B. DE BRITO NEVES 3 and R.A. FUCK 4

1 Instituto Oeoci~ncias, Universidade de SEo Paulo, S~o Paulo, SP (Brazil)
2 Instituto Pesquisa Tecnoldgica de S~o Paulo, S~o Paulo, SP (Brazil)
3 Dept. Geologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE (Brazil)
4 Dept. Geoci$ncias, Universidade de BraszTia, Brasilia, DF (Brazil)

ABSTRACT

De Almeida, F.F.M., Hasui, Y., De Brito Neves, B.B. and Fuck, R.A., 1981. Brazilian
structural provinces: an introduction. Earth-Sci. Rev., 17: 1--29.

The territory of Brazil coincides almost entirely with the South American Platform,
the crystalline core of the continent. Its basement is composed of ancient metamorphic
and igneous rocks and it has not suffered any tectonic regeneration since the beginning
of the Phanerozoic. Sedimentary rocks with almost horizontal bedding cover this crystal-
line basement. This latter shows ages as old as Early Precambrian, although ages between
500 and 1000 m.y. are conspicuously frequent. The cratonic areas became consolidated
more than 1700 m.y. ago, whereas the fold belts formed essentially between 500 and
1700 m.y. ago. The sedimentary cover accumulated from the Early Silurian in three large
intracratonic basins, until the platform became completely stabilized. A Late Jurassic to
Early Cretaceous reactivation, caused by the break-up of the ancient Gondwana conti-
nent, created another basin sequence chiefly along the Atlantic continental margin.
Based on the nature of the crystalline basement rocks and the sedimentary cover, ten
structural provinces can be distinguished:
(1) Rio Branco Province, in the north of the country, occupied by the Guyana Shield
and still only poorly known, with an important fold belt developed during the so-called
Transamazonian Cycle (2000 ± 200 m.y.) with high-grade metamorphic rocks and only
slight influence of later events.
(2) Tapaj6s Province, in central Brazil, corresponding to the Amazonas or Guapor6
Craton, showing chiefly Precambrian crystalline rocks and behaving as an cratonic area
during the Phanerozoie.
(3) Sffo Francisco Province, located on the Atlantic Shield, with its basement covered
by rocks of different ages, chiefly affected by the Brasiliano Cycle (between 1000 and
500 m.y.) and constituting another cratonic area.
(4) Tocantins Province, between the Amazonas and S~'o Francisco Cratons, with the
oldest rocks in its centre (ages over 2600 m.y.), and at the eastern and western borders
metamorphic sequences of various fold belts, and almost no Phanerozoic deposits.
(5) Mantiqueira Province, located along the southern part of the Atlantic coast,
affected chiefly by the Brasiliano folding cycle.
(6) Borborema Province, in the northeast Brazilian fold belt, affected by the Brasiliano
Cycle in a very complex way, and with i m p o r t a n t faulted zones. It was reactivated in
Phanerozoic times, when also sedimentary covers accumulated.
(7) Amazonas Province, represented by the Amazonas sedimentary basin (syneclise),
and subdivided into four parts by three important arcs.

0012-8252/81/0000---0000/$ 07.25 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company

 (8) Parnaiba Province, coinciding with the P i a u f - Maranh~b syneclise, and filled with
a rather thick sedimentary sequence.
(9) Paran~ Province, the sedimentary basin of southern Brazil, in which the well-
known Late Paleozoic glaciation features are found, and which possesses an extensive
cover of basaltic rocks of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age.
(10) Coastal Province and Continental Margin, the youngest structural unit, developed
during the separation of the continent and represented by rift-valleys and coastal basins
filled with Mesozoic---Cenozoic deposits of various kinds.

GENERALITIES

The complete Brazilian territory forms part of the South American Plat-
form whose youngest geosynclinal foldings were consolidated at the beginning
of the Phanerozoic. This basement, composed of metamorphic and igneous
rocks, almost entirely of Precambrian age, crops out widely in the country.
It occupies an area of about 4.6 × 106 km 2, subdivided in three large shields
which extend into neighbouring countries: that of the Guyanas in the north,
the Central Brazilian Shield inland south of the Amazon river, and the Atlan-
tic Shield situated along the Atlantic border (Fig. 1).
The sedimentary cover of the South American Platform accumulated from
the Early Silurian on, chiefly filling three large sedimentary basins of syne-
clise character: Amazonas, Piauf--Maranh~o and Paran~. Smaller areas of
variously aged covers, including Precambriar~, occur scattered over the above-
mentioned shields.
Considering the nature of the exposed basement and its cover, it becomes
possible to recognize structural provinces (Fig. 2). These are large areas
which show features of stratigraphic, tectonic, metamorphic and magmatic
evolution, different from those presented by the bordering provinces.
The limits of these provinces as indicated on Fig. 2 are of two types: geo-
logically defined and arbitrarily limited. Those of the first type include limits
established following structural components of major size such as faults or
fault zones, metamorphic fronts, rapid transitions of fold belts into their
forelands, or erosional borders of large sedimentary basins. The conventional
limits include those that are geologically undefined, either by the particular
conditions of their structure, or due to lack of adequate knowledge, or
because of being covered; they also include transitional limits with a certain
degree of gradual passage from marginal folding zones into deformed plat-
form covers. As the limit of the continental margin, the isobath of 2000 m
which is almost entirely included in Brazilian territory, was adopted.
In the tectonic evolution of the platform basement, two older areas are
distinguished (cratons) which in times more recent than 1800 m.y. have no
longer been subjected to the geosynclinal evolution. The largest of these is
the Amazonian Craton, naturally subdivided into two provinces by the Area:
zonas sedimentary basin. The northern province, included in the Guyana
Shield, is called Rio Branco Province, the southern one, forming part of the
 1 0 0 0 km
i i J

~-~ I I _ ,

II

o
/ R A Z I L
F
/
O

• <,
qy
: :.:.' .:~..'..'.'..
o
O

y o

f~

2
a b

Fig. 1. T h e major g e o t e c t o n i c regions o f S o u t h America. Legend: 1 = A n d e a n Chain; 2 =

P a t a g o n i a n Platform; 3 = S o u t h A m e r i c a n Platform: a, P h a n e r o z o i c covers; b Precambrian
b a s e m e n t . I = G u y a n a Shield; H = Central Brazilian Shield; III= Atlantic Shield.

Central Brazilian Shield, is the Tapa]ds Province. The SEo Francisco Province,
in the Atlantic Shield, coincides with another cratonic area of ancient con-
solidation.
The other three provinces of the basement have as a c o m m o n character-
istic the persistence of geosynclinal evolution up to the end of the Pre-
cambrian, with final phenomena such as tectonic activity, uplift of mountain
chains, molasse accumulation, subsequent volcanic plutonism, pegmatite
formation, etc., already developed during the Cambro-Ordovician. Accord-
 65 55 45

... . . . . '.-'... ''.

.' •
":".:.":::'".".:.'.:.'.:":.:':':i'.".:': :" .:...." .'.'

i;i;ii ili -- i!iiiiiiiil • / 3

lOOO km 25-
L J

35-F

Fig. 2. T h e s t r u c t u r a l p r o v i n c e s o f Brazil. L e g e n d : 1 = R i o B r a n c o ; 2 = T a p a j 6 s ; 3 = S~'o

Francisco; 4 = Tocantins; 5 = Mantiqueira; 6 = Borborema; 7 = Amazonian; 8 = Parna~a;
9 = P a r a n ~ ; 10 = C o a s t a l P r o v i n c e a n d C o n t i n e n t a l Margin. D a s h e d lines r e p r e s e n t c o n v e n -
tional limits of provinces.

ing to their geographic situation and position in relation to the ancient

cratons, one can distinguish, within the Central Brazilian Shield, the Tocan-
tins Province and within the Atlantic Shield the Borborema and Mantiqueira
Provinces.
The three large sedimentary basins represent areas of persistent subsidence
during the Phanerozoic, with a consequent accumulation of thick sedimentary
sequences and basaltic rocks. They constitute other provinces named after
the sedimentary basins proper: Amazonas, Parnaiba and Parand. Finally,
the small sedimentary coastal basins and their submerged extension on the
continental margin characterize the youngest of the Brazilian geological pro-
vinces: the Coastal and Continental Margin Province.
As thus defined, the provinces may be grouped according to the successive
TABLE I
Brazilian structural provinces

Guyana Central Atlantic Shield Sedimentary covers

Shield Brazilian
Shield

Cratons
(consolidated at
more than
1700 m.y.) Rio Branco TapajSs S~'o Francisco
Fold belts,
formed between
1700 and
500 m.y. Tocantins Borborema
Mantiqueira
Basins Amazonas
(syneclises) of Parnaiba
Paleozoic age Paran~
Basins of Coastal and
Mesozoic- Continental Margin
Cenozoic age

stages during the structural evolution of the country (Table I); they are
characterized in their order of decreasing age.
Although having distinct characteristics and histories, these ten provinces
present many interdependent relations in their structural evolution. The
TapajSs and S~o Francisco provinces constituted the forelands of the geo-
synclines in which the fold belts developed, these latter characterizing the
three younger basement provinces. Together with their forelands, these
folded zones show evolutionary conditions comparable to miogeosynclines
with evident tectonic transport towards them. The sedimentary sequences
developed in these geosynclines are chronologically equivalent to the
deposits covering the nearby cratons, so that one stratigraphical set may
belong to two contiguous provinces.
The sedimentary basins which characterize the Paran~ and Parnaiba Pro-
vinces are neatly superimposed on these basement structures, which were
the last to stabilise and from which their configuration inherited many
structural trends. Only the Amazonas basin appeared during the Early Silu-
rian, in a crustal area of very ancient consolidation.

RIO BRANCO PROVINCE

The Rio Branco Province (Fig. 3) is situated in a region almost entirely

covered by a dense tropical forest. It is abundantly drained by large rivers
and its low relief generally does not exceed 600 m. In spite of this, in the
 6.5 5.5 50

- .....•

---051
J
• o

o/

Fig. 3. Rio Branco (1) and Tapaj6s (2) provinces. Legend: 1 = L o w e r and Middle Pre-
c a m b r i a n u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d c o m p l e x e s ; 2 = Trans-Amazonian areas; 3 = Precambrian
cratonic granites; 4 = sedimentary (b) and volcano-sedimentary (a) covers o f Upper Pre-
cambrian age; 5 = sedimentary covers related to t h e adjacent Brasiliano fold belt; 6 =
P h a n e r o z o i c s e d i m e n t a r y covers. Heavy lines represent province boundaries; light discon-
tinuous lines represent folding trends•

mountains which limit it to the north, there exist heights of over 2 0 0 0 m,

e.g., the Neblina Peak {2992 m), the highest mountain on the South Ameri-
can continent outside the Andes. Geologically the province is constituted
chiefly of metamorphic and igneous rocks of Precambrian age, locally over-
lain by thin post-Paleozoic covers.
 The Guyana Complex is exposed in the major part of the province, con-
stituting the basement upon which the younger geological units lie in angu-
lar unconformity. In its still poorly known structure there mainly participate
different types of gneisses in amphibolitic to granulitic facies, migmatites,
amphibolites and numerous intrusive rocks with predominance of granites
I

and granodiorites. Intense granitization and migmatization phenomena

took place in this complex, even before the development of the Transama-
zonian Cycle.
The structures of the Guyana Complex display trends generally oriented
in the northwest quadrant, with sinuosities towards E--W. The granulitic
complex of Manuku, south of Guyana, with a supposed age of more than
2600 m.y. extends into the area of the province. Also in the eastern part of
Amap~i, probably very old granulitic rocks are abundant. It is supposed that
the major part of the Guyana Complex is constituted of rocks with pre-
Transamazonian ages; these were remobilized and isotopically rejuvenated
during this cycle, as indicated by the radiometric ages determined.
A significant fold belt developed in the large geosyncline of the Trans-
amazonian Cycle (2000 + 200 m.y.) in the region north of the Rio Branco
Province. Its ramifications extend chiefly into the eastern region where they
constitute isolated strips of metasedimentary rocks oriented to the north-
west and lying with angular unconformity upon the Guyana Complex. These
strips contain schists, itabirites, quartzites, amphibolites and serpentinites,
metamorphosed in greenschist to amphibolite facies. They are included in
the Vila Nova Group which has in its gondites the proto-ore of an important
lateritic manganese deposit. Radiometric age determinations indicate about
2000 m.y. for the metamorphism of this group, it thus being attributed to
the Transamazonian Cycle. Isolated occurrences of metasediments appear in
the extreme north (Cauani Group) and west (Tuntff Group) of the province,
also tentatively attributed to the same cycle.
As a late stage in the evolution of the Transamazonian Fold Belt there
took place extensive volcanic--plutonic phenomena of acid to intermediate
character. The non-metamorphosed and lightly deformed rocks of the belt
comprise the so-called Burumfi and Iricoum~ formations, both exposed at
the northern border of the province. These rocks extend into the neighbour-
ing countries, where they appear folded and somewhat metamorphosed. The
age of this volcanism is about 1850 m.y. It was followed by the deposition
of continental molasses of the end of the cycle, represented by the Roraima
Group and by a thermal basic magmatism which formed numerous gabbro
and dolerite sills and dykes. The age of these eruptive rocks, about 1800
m.y., marks the end of the Transamazonian Cycle in the Guyana Shield.
The time interval between 1800 and 1000 m.y. is distinguished in the Rio
Branco Province by a series of proto-activation processes of the ancient
craton. These processes produced an intense and diversified faulting, vol-
canism and plutonism, as well as accumulation of detritic sediments in
smaller local basins. The magmatic activity affected almost the whole pro-
vince but was particularly intense in its eastern region, east of the Branco
river and near to the Amazon Basin. It took place chiefly between 1450 and
1750 m.y., producing outflows of rhyolites, rhyodacites, dacites, andesites
and the respective pyroclastics, as well as associated sediments. Numerous
intrusions of granites, some of rapakivi type, of granodiorites, diorites, gab-
bros, syenites and alkali-syenites have been associated with this volcanism.
Between about 1300 and 1100 m.y. another phase of proto-activation
occurred in the province, manifested chiefly by intensive faulting, devel-
opment of wide mylonite and cataclasite belts, local metamorphism and
intrusion of alkali-syenites. This phenomenon, also known in the neigh-
bouring countries, is known in Brazil as the Jari-Balsino Episode.
During the Paleozoic the Guyana Shield seems to have passed through
a long phase of stabilization, remaining emerged and acting as a distributive
province for the sediments which accumulated in the Amazonas Basin in the
south and in the Andean region in the west. During this long erosional pro-
cess the youngest Precambrian cover became destroyed, but near the margins
of the ~Amazonas Basin some remnants have been preserved, represented by
undeformed continental detrital beds, which make up the Prosperanqa and
Sete Quedas Formations existing between the Mapuera and Negro rivers.
With the tectonic--magmatic reactivation suffered by the South American
Platform during the Mesozoic, some of the ancient faults in the Guyana
Shield were reactivated. The Takutu graben in Guyana, is the most expres-
sive manifestation of this phenomenon in the shield. It has been filled by
basaltic and andesitic lavas (Apoterf Formation) of Jurassic age, associated
with continental sediments (Takutu Formation). This graben and its deposits
extend up to the upper Branco river basin in the centre-north of the province.
Also related to the Mesozoic reactivation in the Rio Branco Province are
intrusions of alkali-syenites (Catrimani) and of diabases, the latter forming
an important group of NNW-oriented dykes situated near the coast of
Amap~ (Cassipord diabase).
Tertiary and Quaternary detrital cover extends over an appreciable area of
the western region of the province, near the major rivers as well as along the
coast.

TAPAJOS PROVINCE

The TapajSs Province (Fig. 3) covers an area of about 1,670,000 km ~,

corresponding to that part of the Amazonian Craton known as the Guapord
Craton. Only in a rather reduced part are its Precambrian rocks covered by
remnants of Phanerozoic deposits. The province presents a low relief, with
altitudes generally not over 600 m. It is covered with a dense tropical forest
which makes geological investigation quite difficult.
The Xingu Complex, comprising the major part of the exposed Precam-
brian rocks, is chiefly constituted of gneisses and migmatites of amphibolitic
to granulitic facies in which there locally occurs amphibolites, quartzites,
schists and other metasediments and metavolcanics as well as numerous
intrusive bodies of granites, granodiorites and other igneous rocks. The domi-
nating structural trends are directed generally in the northwest quadrant, but
in the extreme west of the province some NNE--NE trends are present.
The ages of the Xingu Complex rocks have not been definitely established.
It is supposed that a great part were formed more than 2500 m.y. ago, as is
suggested by a few isolated radiometric determinations; however, diverse
later tectonic--thermic episodes have imprinted younger ages upon the rocks.
Above all during the Transamazonian Cycle, the remobilization and isotopic
rejuvenation phenomena of this basement were important, with many
granites being formed. It is probable that part of the gneisses and migmatites
of the complex have originated from the sediments and volcanic rocks of the
Transamazonian Cycle.
A fold belt with certainty belonging to this cycle occurs in the eastern
region of the province. The constituting Gr~o Par~ Group is composed of
quartzites, phyUites, micaschists, jaspilites, itabirites and basic metavol-
canics. An important occurrence of banded iron ore (Serra dos Caraj~s)
is associated with this group. The late molasses of this cycle are represented
by the Rio Freco Formation, with known granitic plutons about 1850 m.y.
old, in the same area, representing episodes of the end of the cycle.
Between 1700 and 1450 m.y. almost the entire area of the Tapaj6s
Province was affected by significant faulting, volcanism and plutonism of
acid to intermediate nature, and sedimentation processes. The phenomena
constitute the Par~ Event, homologous with that occurring at the same time
in the Rio Branco Province. The volcanic rocks, attributed to the Uatum~
Group, are widely distributed through the province and are rhyolites, rhyo-
dacites, andesites and equivalent pyroclastics. Numerous intrusions of com-
monly alkalic cratonic granites, granodiorites, diorites, gabbros, syenites
and diabase dykes are other magmatic manifestations of this event. Con-
tinental and marine sedimentary rocks, sometimes associated with the vol-
canic rocks, crop out in many places. Those belonging to the Beneficiente
Group stand out due to their extent, in the centre-north of the province.
The intense faulting conditioned the distribution of effusive and intrusive
rocks as well as of the sedimentary basins and the deformation of their
deposits. A few of these covers have been lightly metamorphosed during
this event.
Another tectonic--thermic event of proto-activation, called the Madeira
Event, took place at about 1300--1100 m.y., especially in the centra and
west of the province. Ancient faults then also became reactivated, sediment
cover folded and metamorphosed, accompanied by a new phase of intrusion
of cratonic granites and isotopic rejuvenation of ancient basement rocks.
The intrusion of the alkali-syenite of Canama dates from this period. These
processes of the Madeira Event correspond to those of the Jari-Falsino Event
of the Rio Branco Province.
The final proto-activation process of the Tapaj6s Province is the Ron-
10

dSnia Event, affecting the western area at 1000 m.y. It was also marked by
faulting, cratonic granite and granodiorite intrusion, some with ring struc-
tures, and extrusion of rhyolites, andesites, trachytes and basalts. Associated
with this event there occurred an important tin mineralization.
Probably less than 1000 m.y. ago detrital continental sedimentary cover
(Prainha, Secunduri and Riozinho do Afrfzio formations) developed in sub-
horizontal positions. These covers are correlative with the Prosperanqa and
Seta Quedas covers of the Rio Branco Province, and to the Modoquena,
Araras, Alto Paraguai and other groups of the eastern border of the TapajSs
Province, representing extensions over the foreland of deposits from adjacent
geosynclines of the Tocantins Province. The Jacadigo Group at this border,
known for its important deposits of sedimentary iron and manganese ores,
was possibly also deposited at the end of the Precambrian.
During the Phanerozoic the province behaved as a shield, providing detri-
tus to the sedimentary basins of the Amazonas and the Devonian sediments
of the Andean region. Only along its borders neo-Cretaceous (part of the
Parecfs Group) and Cenozoic deposits accumulated, with the manifestation
of the Jurassic volcanism of the Serra de Tapirapu~.
SAO FRANCISCO PROVINCE
The S~o Francisco Province (Fig. 4) is a tableland in the inner part of
which elevations attain between 500 and 1000 m and it is drained by the S~o
Francisco river and directly to the ocean in its eastern part. North of that
river the relief is table-form with altitudes n o t greater than 900 m, b u t in the
east the tableland has a mountainous aspect with local elevations of nearly
1800 m in the extreme south. The province is covered chiefly by a savannah
vegetation. Structurally it differs greatly from the bordering provinces due to
its role as a cratonic foreland of the geosynclinal fold belts developed in it
at the end of the Precambrian. Its limits with these provinces are for a great
part conventional because they developed in tectonic transition zones.
The basement of the S~:o Francisco Province is for the greater part over-
lain by cover of various ages, b u t where it is exposed there occur granitic--
gneissic complexes, greatly migmatized and with metamorphic facies varying
from high-grade amphibolite to granulite. They have been dissected by
numerous intrusions, principally of granitoid, but also of mafic to ultramafic
nature. These complexes have radiometric ages of 2600 m.y., apparently
corresponding to the remobflization epoch of the basement, with extensive
granitization and migmatization features during the so-called Jequi~ Event.
These phenomena acted partly upon rocks older than 3100 m.y., locally
identified in the east of the province. The sinuous structural trends of this
basement are oriented a b o u t N--S in the east of the province where granu-
litic rocks of various types are most abundant. In the central area, where the
ancient basement became uncovered by the structures of the Serra do Espin-
haqo, granitic--migmatitic complexes dominate, with trends oriented to the
NNW parallel to the structures of this range.
 11

44 4O
O~

L__ 2 0 0 km ,

it2-- /I' \
.:. "..

1 2

Fig. 4. Sgo F r a n c i s c o Province. L e g e n d : 1 = L o w e r a n d Middle P r e c a m b r i a n u n d i f f e r e n -

t i a t e d c o m p l e x e s ; 2 = J a c o b i n a b e l t ; 3 = Pre-Brasiliano s e d i m e n t a r y a n d m e t a s e d i m e n t a r y
covers; 4 = s e d i m e n t a r y covers r e l a t e d t o n e i g h b o u r i n g Brasiliano fold belts; 5 = molasse
d e p o s i t s ; 6 = P h a n e r o z o i c s e d i m e n t a r y covers. H e a v y lines r e p r e s e n t m a j o r faults; light
d i s c o n t i n u o u s lines r e p r e s e n t f o l d i n g t r e n d s .

Supracrustal structures of limited extent, affected by the rheomorphic

remobilization of the basement, locally cover the gneissic--migmatitic com-
plexes. They are constituted by various types of metasediments, meta-
volcanics and metamorphosed mafic and ultramafic intrusives i n schist to
12

low-grade amphibolite facies. They have been interpreted as greenstone belts,

b u t their age of older than 2600 m.y. has only been proven up to now for
the Rio das Velhas Group in the extreme south of the province, that con-
tains the largest gold mine in the country. The age of the Roquira Forma-
tion, in the centre of the province, is still doubtful, but it is probably very
old; it contains an important occurrence of lead.
The Transamazonian geotectonic cycle (2000 + 200 m.y.) acted upon
restricted parts of the province, developing fold belts, remnants of which are
represented by the Jacobina Group and its possible extension (Contendas) in
the State of Bahia, and b y the Minas Supergroup of the extreme south of the
province in the State of Minas Gerais. These belts are constituted of very
thick sequences of metasediments of clastic and chemical origin, with meta-
basitic intercalations, intensively folded and metamorphosed in a chiefly
greenschist facies. The Minas Supergroup is famous because of its important
mines of banded iron ore of the so-called Quadril~tero Ferrffero. During the
Transamazonian Cycle intrusions occurred in various places in the province,
principally of granitic rocks.
The Serra do Espinha~o, situated in the centre of the province, in the
State of Bahia, constitutes a zone of NNW-oriented folds, tectonized and
m e t a m o r p h o s e d in greenschist facies at a b o u t 1200 -+ 100 m.y. ago. This
zone developed between 1700 and 1100 m.y. ago in a region where the base-
ment is cut through by ancient and extensive faults, upon which a sequence
of a b o u t 4000 m of sediment accumulated. This sedimentation does n o t
characterize a geosynclinal environment, b u t rather a tectonically very active
paraplatform with homologues in the Tapaj6s Province. Outside of the
Espinhaqo fold belt, as is also the case in the latter province, the beds
become gradually thinner, with the metamorphism disappearing, changing to
the character of a tabular platform cover (Chapada Diamantina Group)
deformations of which are of induced nature due to local movement of the
basement faults.
The upper stage of the Precambrian cover on the craton represents the
extension upon it of the deposits accumulated in the geosynclines developed
at its borders during the Brasiliano Cycle. In this cover remnants are recog-
nized of a continental glaciation which t o o k place at the end of the Pre-
cambrian (Macafibas Group); the ample extension of pelitic and carbonatic
sedimentation correlates with the pre-inversion limestones of the above geo-
synclines as well as the remnants of the final molasses of this cycle. This
cover, in part lightly metamorphosed, has been deformed in various areas
either by reflex action of the tecto-genesis of the marginal folded zones or
by the reactivation of basement faults in the inner part of the province. The
Brasiliano co~;er complex developed between 1000 m.y. and the beginning
of the Phanerozoic w h e n t h e molasses accumulated. They are associated with
important deposits of lead, zinc, sedimentary phosphates and carbonates.
The Phanerozoic cover has been preserved on the craton, in Mesozoic
coastal rift-valleys formed during the opening of the ocean, attaining thick-
 13

nesses of thousands of meters, as in the RecSncavo graben in the State of

Bahia. In the inner part of the province there subsist remainders of extensive
b u t thin continental sediment cover of Late Cretaceous to Tertiary age as
well as the Quaternary sedimentation of the river floodplains.

TOCANTINS PROVINCE

The Tocantins Province (Fig. 5) is situated between the Amazonian and

S~o Francisco cratons and limited to the north and south, respectively, by
the sedimentary basins of Parnaiba and Paran~. The province appears as a
region chiefly covered by savannah, with local forests. Its relief is low with
isolated ranges standing out, b u t it becomes elevated to a b o u t 1200 m above
sea level in the centre of the State of Goi~s, in the so-called Planalto Central.
The great lowlands of the Pantanal in Mato Grosso, and of the Araguaia in
Goi~s belong to this province.
Three structurally distinct regions can be recognized in the Tocantins
Province: a central region corresponding in its major part to the median
massif of Goi~s; an eastern one coinciding approximately with the Uruaqu
and Brasflia fold belts; and a western region with the Paraquay--Araguaia
fold belts.
The oldest rocks of the province, with ages older than 2600 m.y., consti-
tute the major part of the central region. They are chiefly various types of
gneisses, including granulitic rocks locally migmatized and penetrated by
granitoid rocks of various ages. In structural and possibly also lithological
terms, two realms can be distinguished in the central region, separated at
a b o u t the 16°S parallel by a deflection of the structures, called the Pirineus
Megaflexure, which affected the youngest folded rocks as well as those of
the older basement. South of this flexure NW--NNW-oriented structural
directions dominate, whereas to the north they are more NNE--NE aligned.
In the eastern part of the southern segment there occurs a large zone of
granulitic rocks. All rocks of the province present the effects of polymeta-
morphism, episodic fracturing of different ages and isotopic rejuvenation.
Intrusive basic and ultrabasic rocks are c o m m o n , they are locally mineralized
with copper and nickel sulphides, and some of them are completely talcified
and serpentinized. Ultramafic--alkalic massifs of Cretaceous age, with epi-
genetic mineralization of nickel are known from Ipor~, Montes Claros de
Goi~s and other localities.
In the northern segment of the central region very ancient gneisses
dominate, of granodioritic aspect and with diffuse foliation and generally
without banding. In some areas such rocks constitute the basement for vol-
cano-sedimentary sequences, represented by green rocks (chlorite-schists,
talc-actinolite-schists and amphibolites) associated with ferruginous quart-
zites, itabirites and schists. These sequences appear mineralized in gold,
copper, talc and amphibolic asbestos. In the eastern part of the region there
occur the great mafic--ultramafic complexes of Goian~sia--Barro Alto,
14

o km

56
44

Fig. 5. Tocantins Province. Legend: 1 = Older basement reworked during the Upper Pre-
cambrian (Goi~s Massif in the central region and part of the Guaxup4 Massif at the south-
eastern corner); 2 = Uruaqu fold belt; 3 -- Brasiliano fold belts (Brasflia belt bordering
the S~o Francisco Province, Paraguay--Araguaia belt bordering the Tapaj6s province);
4 -- sedimentary covers related to the adjacent Brasiliano belts; 5 = Phanerozoic sedi-
mentary covers.

Niquel~ndia and Cana Brava, associated with granulites, the last t w o com-
plexes being surrounded b y younger metasedimentary rocks. These com-
plexes have ages older than 3000 m.y. and show mineralizations of Ni,
Cu and Co; in Cana Brava the principal Brazilian chrysolitic asbestos mine is
found. Granulites have also been recognized southeast of Porto Nacional and
 15

more to the east a belt of greenstones has recently been identified.

The Uruaqu fold belt in the east of the Tocantins Province is still a poorly
defined unit, extending from Natividade (Goi~s) to the region of Arax~
(Minas Gerais) from where it continues eastward. In G o i ~ and also in Minas
Gerais, the basement of the Uruaqu fold belt is composed of granulites,
gneisses, amphibolites and calco~silicated rocks which constitute the Gua-
xup~ Massif. This massif has a triangular form and separates the southern
part of the fold belt in t w o branches, oriented NW and NE, the latter limited
b y a important transcurrent fault.
The Uruaqu fold belt is constituted of pelitic and psammitic metasedi-
ments as well as metabasites. Its folds are of holomorphic character, verging
to the S~o Francisco Craton. North of the Pirineus Megaflexure the domina-
ting directions of these folds are oriented between NNE and the meridian,
whereas in the south they have a general NW direction. Generally it is sup-
posed that these rocks belong to the Uruaquano Cycle, the chief metamor-
phism of which should have occurred a b o u t 1000 m.y. ago, although some
recent authors consider the possibility of these rocks being older and
belonging to the Transamazonian Cycle. Granitic rocks are rare in this fold
belt, occurring in brachyanticlines the granitic nuclei of which may contain
cassiterite.
The Brasflia fold belt, whose length is over 1100 km, developed at the
western and southern flank of the S~o Francisco Craton during the Brasi-
liano Cycle. The sedimentation, of miogeosynclinai character, started with a
fine detritic sedimentation, followed by psammites and pelites with inter-
calated limestones and dolomites. The folds of holomorphic t y p e verge
towards the craton; they have been metamorphosed in greenschist facies,
both phenomena decreasing in the same direction. The magmatic activity
related to the evolution of this fold belt is restricted to andesitic volcanism
in the north of the belt, and to the intrusion of a few granite plutons in the
south. Thrust faults are frequent, indicating a movement towards the craton
border. A molassoid sedimentation, developed at the end of the cycle, covers
the fold belt as well as the craton proper. Carbonate rocks, sedimentary
phosphates, lead and zinc constitute its mineral resources.
The Paraguay--Araguaia fold belt developed at the border of the Ama-
zonian Craton, similarly to the relationship between the Brasflia belt and the
S~o Francisco Craton. It shows an S-type curved form extending over 3200
km. Its extremes are covered by the sediments of the Parnaiba and Paran~
basins. A great part of the fold belt is covered by modern sediments of the
Araguaia Plain in which the large Bananal island is found, in Goi~s State, and
the Mato Grosso Pantanal. In its southern part two phases of geosynclinal
evolution can be distinguished, in the first of which when later folded and
metamorphosed, flysch-type sediments were deposited. During the second
phase a conglomerate was deposited, indicating a marine transgression, fol-
lowed by a glacial-marine deposition and, in angular unconformity, an
upper carbonatic unit with stromatolitic structures, capped by pelites. The
16

metamorphism is in greenschist facies and an intense holomorphic folding

parallel to the axis of the belt, verges towards the Amazonian Craton. A few
post-tectonic granitic plutons of a b o u t 500 m.y. age occur in the middle
part of the belt. The last stratigraphic unit, possibly older than the intrusions,
corresponds to molassic deposits that are partly continental and chiefly accu-
mulated in a foredeep which extends from the fold belt over the craton
border. In the region of Corumb,'i, State of Mato Grosso, there occur arkoses
followed by a sequence of alternating beds of ferruginous jaspilite, compact
hematite, thick-bedded cryptomelane and intercalated clastic sediments.
Enormous reserves of iron and manganese ore occur in this Jacadigo Group,
the age of which is still uncertain.
In the northern part of the belt the basal sequence is composed of gneisses,
schists and quartzites, with conformable and unconformable amphibolites.
Then follows a series of terrigenous sediments, represented by phyllites, sub-
ordinated quartzites and some limestone intercalations, capped by a mag-
matic--sedimentary sequence, represented by chlorite-schists, talc-actinolite-
schists and metabasites. There occur numerous unconformable bodies of
mafic and ultramafic rocks changed into serpentinites and magnesian schists.
This magmatism is related to the Tocantins--Araguaia geosuture, developed
at the eastern limit of the Amazonian Craton. The metamorphism of the
belt decreases rapidly from east to west, passing from an amphibolite facies
into a greenschist facies, reducing to anchymetamorphic transformations
near the border of the craton. Granitic rocks appear locally, in brachyanti-
clinal nuclei surrounded b y banded gneisses.
The Phanerozoic sedimentation in the Tocantins Province remains limited
to the filling of the Agua Bonita graben in Goi~s, with supposed Devonian
beds, and to relicts of Cretaceous and Cenozoic continental covers, among
which stand o u t those of the Pantanal of Mato Grosso (with thicknesses of
up to 500 m) and of the Araguaia plain. Late Cretaceous alkalic magmatism,
as well as intrusions of Early Cretaceous diabase dykes, occurred in various
parts of the south of the province.

MANTIQUEIRA PROVINCE

The Mantiqueira Province (Fig. 6) is situated along the Atlantic coast

south of latitude 15°S, extending to the frontier with Uruguay. It occupies
an area of a b o u t 450,000 km 2, and is bordered at one side by the coastal
basins and the continental margin and at the other side by the S~o Francisco,
Tocantins and Paran~ Provinces. The Mantiqueira Province presents an
almost entirely mountainous region, w i t h altitudes higher than 1500 m in
the coastal mountain range; the culminating point is the Pico da Bandeira
which with its 2890 m constitutes the highest peak of the eastern part of the
continent.
In the northern part of the province is situated the southeastern fold belt,
developed during the Brasiliano Cycle, and constituted by three fold systems
 17

3 4
3

1 2

-~2s

""'":'":""."!":" " 1
500 km

Fig. 6. M a n t i q u e i r a P r o v i n c e . L e g e n d : 1 -- O l d e r b a s e m e n t r e w o r k e d d u r i n g t h e U p p e r
P r e c a m b r i a n (a -- P e l o t a s Massif, b = Joinville Massif, c = p a r t o f t h e G u a x u p ~ Massif);
2 = Brasiliano fold b e l t s (A = Tijucas belt, B = A p i a i belt, C = S~'o R o q u e belt, D = Ara-
q u a f b e l t ) ; 3 = m e t a s e d i m e n t a r y area r e l a t e d t o t h e A r a ~ u a f b e l t (Rio P a r d o G r o u p ) ; 4 =
molasse d e p o s i t s ; 5 -- P h a n e r o z o i c s e d i m e n t a r y covers. H e a v y lines r e p r e s e n t m a j o r faults.

separated by t w o median massifs with a general NE orientation.

The fold systems have been formed by geosynclinal sequences which in
the better studied areas exhibit a lower psammitic--pelitic sequence, with
carbonate lenses near the top and an upper, chiefly pelitic, sequence of
flysch-type character. These rocks have been metamorphosed into a green-
schist and amphibolite facies under low P/T. In large areas they underwent
migmatization processes• The folding was intense, polyphase and of linear
type, with poorly evidence vergence. The pre-tectonic magmatism of mafic
18

nature is poorly developed, contrary to the syntectonic magmatism of acid

nature represented by numerous stocks and batholiths dated at a b o u t 650
m.y. There also exist post-tectonic intrusions, less frequently forming stocks
and batholiths, dated at a b o u t 540 m.y.
In the median massifs the pre-Brasiliano basement is exposed as nuclei
with granulites, charnockites, mafic and ultramafic rocks, and migmatites of
the Middle and Early Precambrian.
Numerous small basins developed at the final evolution stage of the folded
region. They are located within the fold systems and its margins and filled
with molassic sediments and acid to intermediate lavas with thicknesses of
over 5000 m. The older molasses have been folded, whereas the younger
ones have only been tilted by faulting. The cited volcanic rocks and the
associated granitoid plutons hav# been dated at 450--500 m.y.
Bundles of thrust faults, chiefly longitudinal, divide the southeastern fold
belt in sections. The faults seem to be ancient and deep, having passed
through a phase of intense reactivation at the end of the Precambrian and
the beginning of the Paleozoic when they affected the metamorphites and
granites formed during the Brasiliano Cycle.
The area between latitudes 23 ° and 24°S is characterized by a structure
of faulted blocks where the Brasiliano structures curving towards N60E are
replaced b y the pre-Brasiliano ones situated more to the north. The limits of
this transition are still n o t defined, due to absence of detailed investigations.
The principal mineral resources of the southeastern fold belt are the vein
deposits of Pb--Zn associated with limestones, Au and Cu in the molassic
basins of the south of Brazil, W and Sn in gneisses, feldspars and lithium-
bearing minerals of the pegmatites, Mn and Ti associated with the older
rocks.
During the Paleozoic, the Ponta Grossa and Rio Grande arcs developed at
the borders of the Paran~ Basin, exercising their influence strongly on the
modelling of the basin and the delimitation of the province.
With the Mesozoic--Cenozoic reactivation of the South American Plat-
form, there occurred the intrusion of a number of diabase dykes and the
formation of many alkalic plugs, some with associated carbonatites, within
the Ponta Grossa and Rio Grande arcs. Reactivation of ancient faults as well
as newly formed ones permitted the development of a relief and the appear-
ance of some small taphrogenic basins filled with Cenozoic fluvial and
lacustrine sediments.
In the north of the Mantiqueira Province is othe Ara~ual fold belt, devel-
oped during the Brasiliano Cycle at the borders of the S~o Francisco Craton.
Near this belt, north of 19°S, the structures have a NNE orientation, b u t
near !5°S they turn to ESE after a strong inflection, reaching the coastal
plain at the northern limit of the province.
In the part with NNE orientation, the belt is constituted by geosynclinal
pelitic to psefitic sediments, with associated limestones, itabirites and mafic
volcanic rocks, composing the Macaubas Group. Pebbly greywackes exist in
 19

this sequence that seem to be glacial-marine sediments correlated to the

deposits of glacial origin found on the S~o Francisco Craton (Jequitai
Formation). The sediments present a metamorphism varying from green-
schist to amphibolite facies, with increasing intensity going away from the
craton. Radiometric age determinations point to 600 m.y. for the meta-
morphism and a b o u t 517 m.y. for the final granites. Holomorphic folds and
large thrust faults affected these rocks, verging towards the craton.
The northern part of the fold belt is still poorly k n o w n and the limits
between the Mantiqueira and S~o Francisco Provinces are still n o t precise,
except in the coastal area where they coincide with the Planalto fault.
The rocks of amphibolitic facies of the Araquaf belt pass into the gneisses
and migmatites, with associated schists, quartzites, gondites, calco-silicate
rocks, marbles, charnockites and acid to basic granites, of older ages. The
limit has n o t been fixed due to sparse research in the area.
In the remainder of the Mantiqueira Province some lithostratigraphic units
have been described whose mutual relations are still not explained. In its
southern part units are recognized with metasediments of amphibolitic to
granulitic facies, with an age of a b o u t 2000 m.y. (Paraiba, Amparo, Itan-
homi groups, Juiz de Fora Formation) and attributed to the Paraiba do Sul
fold belt developed during the Transamazonian Cycle. In the central-south-
ern part gneisses are found with associated mafic and ultramafic rocks, with
ages older than 2600 m.y. (Barbacena and Mantiqueira Formations), upon
which the Paraiba Group should lie unconformably.
The Brasiliano Cycle affected these units intensively, producing deforma-
tion, blastic modifications, and intense migmatization and granitization.
Thus pegmatites were formed which in the centre-north of the zone contain
a district producing various types of gemstones.

BORBOREMA PROVINCE

The Borborema Province (Fig. 7) covers an area of a b o u t 380,000 km 2,

coinciding with the Nordeste fold belt, developed during the Brasiliano
Cycle. It is limited by the S~o Francisco and Parnaiba provinces as well as
the coastal basins and continental margin. In the major part of its area it has
a semi-arid climate with the development of large pediments. The residual
erosion relief only rarely exceeds altitudes of 1000 m.
The region of Brasiliano folds presents a complex arrangement, in mosaic,
including different systems of linear folds mutually separated by elevated
parts of the basement, either related to faults or not.
The folding systems of Sergipe and Medio-Coreau are situated at the
extreme southeast and northwest of the province, respectively. They have
a marginal disposition in relation to the S~o Francisco and SXo Lufz cratons.
In these systems similar sets of metasediments are present in which a level
of carbonate rocks, thousands of meters thick, is intercalated within terri-
genous clastics of various types. These sequences generally extend to the
20

o•

3 4

8:1:
.... :..-:~

I
42 3 36

1 2 ~
40
L 200 krn,

Fig. 7. B o r b o r e m a P r o v i n c e . L e g e n d : 1 -- O l d e r b a s e m e n t r e w o r k e d d u r i n g t h e U p p e r
P r e c a m b r i a n (a -- P e r n a m b u c o - - A l a g o a s Massif, b = T e i x e i r a M a s s i f , c -- R i o P i r a n h a s
M a s s i f , d = T r S i a M a s s i f , e = S a n t a Q u i t ~ r i a M a s s i f ) ; 2 = B r a s i l i a n o f o l d b e l t s (A = S e r g i p a n
belt, with o = outer zone and i = inner zone, B = Riacho do Pontal belt, C ~ PiancS--Alto
Brfgida belt, D = Pajefi--Para~a belt, E = Serid5 belt, F = Jaguaribe belt, G = Curu--
I n d e p ~ n d ~ n c i a b e l t , H = M ~ d i o Coreafi b e l t ) ; 3 -- s e d i m e n t a r y c o v e r s c o r r e l a t i v e o f t h e
B r a s i l i a n o b e l t s ; 4 = m o l a s s e d e p o s i t s ; 5 = P h a n e r o z o i c s e d i m e n t a r y c o v e r s . H e a v y lines
represent major faults.

borders of the neighbouring cratonic nuclei, with decreasing thickness and

degree of deformation. The holomorphic folds are arranged following the
craton borders in relation to which they verge•
The fold systems farther away from the ancient cratons are constituted of
 21

psammitic--pelitic metasediments of at least two cycles, those of the younger

one prograding in relation to those of the older cycle and of the basement
highs.
An intense holomorphic folding exhibits vergences towards the inner
massifs which are partially covered by geosynclinal deposits with attenuated
deformations. The metamorphism is of plurifacial character, with facies
variations of greenschist to amphibolite, under low P/T. Migmatization is
frequent, chiefly in the basal terrigenous sequences.
The pre-folding magmatism was of basic nature and n o t very intense. The
syntectonic magmatism was extremely active, constituted of stocks and
batholiths of granitoid rocks dated at a b o u t 650 m.y. The late tectonic grani-
tic magmatism, the only one occurring in the marginal zones, t o o k place
a b o u t 540 m.y. ago.
Molassic deposits accumulated in backdeeps and foredeeps associated with
the marginal systems, extending even over the cratons with decreasing thick-
ness and degree of deformation. The materials seem to have been deposited
between 510 and 470 m.y.
The basement highs constitute median massifs and geanticlines, exposing
gneissic--migmatitic complexes of Early to Middle Precambrian age, remo-
bilized during the Brasiliano Cycle.
A complex fault system of large size divides the province into sections,
separating the fold systems or cutting through them. These faults seem to be
very old, deep and reactivated on different occasions, with variable character.
The transcurrent character noted on the maps, is only the most obvious,
having occurred late during the Brasiliano Cycle. The general trend of the
province's structures is arranged as a fan opening towards the northeast,
diagonally to the coast. It suffered deviations and inflections due to the
faulting movements; t w o of these faults, the lineaments of Pernambuco and
Patos or Paraiba, b o t h with a W--E direction, stand out in this assemblage
due to their size.
The principal mineral deposits of the province are Be, Ta and Li associated
with the pegmatites, W and Mo in scarns, Fe, magnesite, marble and graphite.
There exist remnants of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic cover associated with
various small taphrogenic basins, originated b y reactivation of ancient faults.
These sediments are relicts of formerly more extensive cover, b o u n d to the
primitive extent of the Parnaiba and RecSncavo--Tucano--Jatob~ basins.
Cretaceous diabase dykes and Tertiary alkalic--basaltic volcanic products
occur locally. Remains of thin Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary covers
lie upon erosion surfaces, escalated from the coast inland.

AMAZONAS PROVINCE

The Amazonas Province coincides with the great sedimentary basin which
developed u p o n the Amazonian Craton during the Paleozoic (Fig. 8). It is an
extensive low-lying region of a b o u t 1,250,000 km 2 , the relief only becoming
22

• :'-. . ~ +oo
::i::.::....:.! ii : .

:..%":...:-i.."
:i:.!.i::':iill
. ..'..:.. :
y . , - . : ..... : .. . - . . .

20_ I
::il

I P 30-- -.}.-

Fig. 8. A m a z o n i a n ( 7 ) , Parnafba (8) and Paran~ (9) Provinces. C o u n t o u r lines represent

the depth o f the b a s e m e n t in kilometers. Arches: A = Iquitos, B = Purus, C = Gurup~, D =
T o c a n t i n s , E = Ferrer--Urbano S a n t o s , F = S~o Francisco, G = Goi~nia, H = A s u n c i o n , I =
P o n t a Grossa, J = R i o Grande. Basins: P = Acre, Q = Upper A m a z o n , R = Middle A m a z o n ,
S = Parnafba, T = Paran~.

higher than 200 m in the extreme west of the province, near Peru. It is
drained b y the Amazon river, running in its axis, and covered b y a dense
tropical forest. The important Cenozoic continental sedimentation covers
the Paleozoic structures which only crop o u t in narrow strips along the basin
borders.
The evolution of the Amazonas Basin during the Paleozoic has been
largely affected b y the presence of three transverse arched ridges, Iquitos
in the west, Purus in the centre and Gurup~ in the east. The tectonic action
of these arcs strongly conditioned many of the erosion and sedimentation
 23

processes which t o o k place in the basin, as well as subdividing it in four sub-

basins: Acre in the west, Upper and Middle Amazonas, and Maraj6 or Lower
Amazonas, this latter already belonging to t h e coastal province.
The Paleozoic marine transgression in the Amazonas Basin started during
the Early Silurian if n o t during the latest Ordovician. The detritic sedimen-
tation t o o k place in environments varying between tidal flats and neritic
bottoms. A regression and again a transgression followed during the Devo-
nian when the sea remained in the basin between the Emsian and Frasnian.
The thick sequence of detrital sediments then accumulated, represents
environments ranging between littoral and infraneritic, to even bathyal. A
long hiatus followed until the sea returned once more to occupy the basin
during the Late Carboniferous and deposited detritic sediments, limestones
and evaporites (in this order), with a total thickness of 3000 m in the Middle
Amazonas area. The neritic sedimentation environment points to a progres-
sive closure of the basin, culminating in the accumulation of up to 1200 m
of evaporites, with intercalated limestones and shales. Probably the action of
the Gurup~ horst provoked this closure.
Continental beds identified in wells seem to indicate a Permian sedimenta-
tion in the area of greatest thicknesses of sediment in the Middle Amazonas
basin. A great quantity of diabase dykes and sills, some of them attaining
hundreds of meters in thickness, occur intercalated in the Paleozoic beds.
This magmatism, that t o o k place in more than one phase, developed between
the end of the Carboniferous and the Early Jurassic, based on isotopic
datings. The outflows which must have existed, have been eroded before the
Tertiary.
In the Middle Amazonas basin continental layers of Late Cretaceous age
are also known. The accumulated sediments u p o n the craton border, near
the Andean region of Peru, extended to the extreme west of the province
where they became folded and faulted.
The Cenozoic sedimentation, chiefly from the Tertiary, is completely con-
tinental, covering the major part of the province. It may attain a thickness
of a b o u t 1500 m, in the Upper Amazonas area. The Quaternary deposits
remain limited to the low floodplains of the big rivers.

PARNAIBA PROVINCE

The Parnaiba Province (Fig. 8) is situated in the north of Brazil, with an

area of a b o u t 650,000 km 2. It coincides chiefly with the sedimentary basin
• of Piaui--Maranh~o, but in its northern part Precambrian basement rocks are
locally exposed. The major part of the province has a tabular relief with con-
centric cuestas, their altitudes generally n o t being higher than 600 m.
The subsidence of the basin started in the Early Silurian or possibly during
the Late Ordovician, after a long period of erosion of the basement rocks
of the South American Platform. The basal sedimentation, of littoral and
neritic origin, is composed of medium- to coarse-grained sandstones with
24

conglomeratic intercalations capped by fine sandstones, siltstones and shales

attaining a thickness of 700 m. Shales follow, with sandstone intercalations
resulting from the marine transgression of the Early Devonian. During the
Middle Devonian there occurred a short regression phase marked by deltaic
sandstones, followed by a wide transgression which, during the Late Devo-
nian (Famennian), was responsible for the accumulation of a thick sequence
of dark, frequently bituminous shales. Then there took place a regression of
the sea, and during the Early Carboniferous the extent of the basin was
reduced. The initially marine sedimentation became continental, with fluvial
sandstones, sfltstones, lacustrine shales and thin coal beds. The clastic sedi-
mentation continued during the Late Carboniferous, but near its top it con-
tains fossiliferous limestone beds of a periodic ingression of the sea. In the
Early Permian there follows a continental sedimentation of sandstones, sili-
cified limestones, siltstones with beds of oolitic chert, and gypsum.
After these episodes the region was uplifted and underwent a long period
of erosion and non-deposition, interrupted during the Late Triassic by a limnic
sedimentation of silt- and claystones, with a few sandstones. Then the first
sign of basaltic magmatism appeared, becoming quite important during the
Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, and responsible for large outflows which
cover eolian sandstones, indicative of a dry climate during that period.
Numerous sills and dykes were introduced within the layers of the basin.
In the north of the basin there follows, after the basaltic magmatism, a
large and shallow Cretaceous sedimentary basin which probably continued
towards the east of the province. The sedimentation in this basin started
with eolian sandstones, capped by fine clastics with banks of limestone and
gypsum, proving that a marine ingression took place during the Aptian. The
Cretaceous sedimentation ended in the Albian, with the deposition of sand-
stones, siltstones and shales from lacustrine, fluvial, estuarine and deltaic
environments. These layers possess marine equivalents in the Barreirinhas
coastal basin.
During the Cenozoic the province suffered erosion such that the sediments
of this time now only occur near the coast.
At the northern border of the Parnaiba Province, there arose during the
Early Cretaceous the so~alled Ferrer--Urbano Santos arc, with orientation
parallel to the coast. The rupture of the northern flank of the ridge by suc-
cessive normal faults was the origin of the coastal basins of graben type of
Bragan~a, S~o Luiz, and Barreirinhas.
The appearance of the Ferrer--Urbano Santos arc brought to the surface
Precambrian structures which crop out in isolated spots through the Meso-
zoic-Cenozoic cover. They permit the recognition of two geological and
geochronological realms separated by a zone of cataclastic rocks in which
penetrate intrusions of maflc to intermediate character, of Cretaceous age.
This strip coincides with the axis of the above arc. North of it, gneisses and
migmatites with structural trends oriented to the NW and intercepted by
granitic bodies, show radiometric ages of more than 1600 m.y., and their
 25

~2

Fig. 9. Middle N o r t h e r n region o f Brazil. L e g e n d : 1 --- T r a n s - A m a z o n i a n b a s e m e n t and

covers; 2 -- Brasiliano belts (A -- Gurupi belt, B = M~dio Coreafi belt); 3 = s e d i m e n t a r y
covers correlative o f t h e Brasiliano belts; 4 = molasse d e p o s i t s ; 5 = P h a n e r o z o i c s e d i m e n -
tary covers. Heavy lines r e p r e s e n t m a j o r faults; d i s c o n t i n u o u s line i n d i c a t e t h e s o u t h e r n
limit o f t h e S~o Lugs C r a t o n .

cover of slightly deformed arkosic psammites is dated at a b o u t 900 m.y. The

eastern outcrops, situated east of S~o Luiz to the State of Cear~, present
Brasiliano K/Ar ages. South of the above strip, gneisses, quartzites and phyl-
lites with orientations between NNW and N--8 also show Brasiliano ages, as
obtained by various methods.
It is supposed that the older structures present in this region form part of
a primitive cratonic nucleus (S~o Luiz) which originally continued into the
Craton of West Africa, with reworking during the Brasiliano Cycle (Fig. 9).
The structural region situated south of the cataclastic zone must represent an
extension of the Brasiliano folding systems of the neighbouring provinces.
Gold is the principal mineral p r o d u c t of this area with Precambrian rocks.

PARANA PROVINCE

The Paran~ Province (Fig. 8) corresponds to the Paran~ sedimentary basin,

one of the large syneclises which became implanted u p o n the South American
Platform from the Silurian on. It is limited b y the Tocantinas and Mantiqu-
eira Provinces and presents between 29 ° and 30°S a projection reaching the
Atlantic Ocean. The relief of the province is constituted by high-lying table-
land and concentric cuestas, drained by the Uruguay and Paran~ rivers. At its
higher eastern border the altitudes rarely surpass 1200 m, b u t do attain 1808
m on the Igreja hill on the basaltic highland in Santa Catarina.
26

The form and size of the Paran~ Basin varied much during geological time,
due to slow tectonic oscillations as indicated by the paleogeographical recon-
structions. At present it occupies an area of a b o u t 1,200,000 km 2 in Brazil,
extending into Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. The present basin con-
figuration reflects some tectonic features which acted at its border in the
Paleozoic and Mesozoic, such as the Goi~nia flexure and the arcs of Central
Paraguay, Ponta Grossa and Rio Grande.
The evolution of the basin during the Devonian shows an extensive marine
transgression coming from the west. During the Carboniferous the marine
ingressions become episodic, passing in the Permian to continental sedimen-
tation which continued from then on. The oldest fossfliferous sediments
dated in the Paran~ Basin are of Silurian age and are recognized in Paraguay;
there is no p r o o f that they extend into Brazil. In the Devonian, the sea
remained in the basin between the Koblenzian and Frasnian, with the deposi-
tion of initially coarse detrital sediments followed by black shales, attaining
a total thickness of 1000 m.
During the Late Carboniferous the basin accumulated an up to 1500 m
thick continental sedimentary sequence, for the greater part resulting from
five advances of inland ice. During interglacial phases three marine ingressions
left lithological records in the Carboniferous column, also including post-
glacial sediments.
The Permian is represented by sedimentary rocks which attain thicknesses
of 1700 m, deposited w i t h o u t interruption with the post-glacial Carboni-
ferous units, under conditions of restricted waters passing gradually to
fluvial. The pack is dominantly pelitic, reflecting a slow subsidence of the
basin.
From the end of the Paleozoic on, erosion processes became dominant;
only one record of Late Triassic sediments is known from the south of Brazil,
represented b y a b o u t 200 m thick fluvial, fossiliferous sedimentary rocks.
During the Late Jurassic the reactivation process of the South American
Platform supervened. There occurred an extensive continental sedimentation
covering an area of over 1,300,000 km 2 with eolian, locally fluvial and
fluvio-lacustrine deposits which may attain a 400 m thickness. These sedi-
ments have been covered b y basalt outflows which also occur intercalated.
The outflows may attain a total thickness of 1,529 m in the centre-north of
the province, whereas the calculated volume exceeds 650,000 km 3. Together
with this magmatism a large quantity of dykes was formed, some with thick-
nesses of 100 m and lengths of tens of kilometers that are present chiefly at
the eastern border of the basin and in the Mantiqueira Province. Sills up to
200 m thick also occur intercalated in the sedimentary rocks.
Accompanying the basaltic volcanism and following it during the Late
Cretaceous, an alkali magmatism t o o k place at various sites along the basin
borders, originating numerous types of ultramafic, mafic and intermediate
rocks, many of them still present within the province.
During the Late Cretaceous fluvial sediments were deposited initially in
 27

restricted areas, afterwards extending over the entire southern half of the
province. These sediments possess thicknesses of n o t more than 300 m.
In the Tertiary the coastal area was uplifted and a thin fluvial sedimenta-
tion started to invade the province related to a drainage that was not very
much different from the present one.
In the whole province the beds are generally slightly dipping towards the
inland. Local deformations have been observed, associated with faults or
igneous intrusions.
The mineral wealth of the Paran~ Province is associated with sedimentary
rocks (coal, p y r o b i t u m e n and limestone) and to magmatics, chiefly those of
alkalic affiliation.

COASTAL PROVINCE AND CONTINENTAL MARGIN

The youngest structural province considered here, developed from the

Late Jurassic on at the ocean border, having contacts with almost all other
provinces.
The coastal plain is the physiographic feature of the emerged part of this
province; it is a surface a few meters above sea level, composed of alluvial,
transitional, and coastal marine deposits, locally remobilized by wind action.
The plain is characteristically narrow and very elongated, even discontinuous
at some sites. Its major expressions remain restricted to the Amazon river
m o u t h {400 km) and some other river systems which supply Holocene deltas
such as those of the Parnaiba, Jaguaribe, Sffo Francisco, Doce, Paraiba do Sul
and other rivers. Generally the plain continues landward in the form of low
tablelands until a few tens of meters above sea level, comprising Cretaceous
and Tertiary continental and marine sediments which reach the crystalline
rocks at the limit of the province.
The Brazilian continental margin, the submerged part of the province,
shows variable physiographic and sedimentary connotations visualized in
three distinct segments.
Along the northern coast, from Amap~ to Maranhffo, the shelf is up to
200 km wide, rather shallow and with a very regular surface. The gradient
and the relief of the slope vary greatly; the Amazon cone is the most impor-
tant feature. The surface deposits are chiefly sandy. Off the coast of the
eastern part of northeastern Brazil that shows a very irregular shelf surface
followed by an abrupt break to the slope, the surface deposits are mainly
bioclastic, the terrigenous sediments remaining restricted to the neighbour-
h o o d of the river mouths. Off the coast between Bahia and Rio Grande do
Sui the shelf always presents variable widths and depths, is rich in important
physiographical features, and has an abrupt slope. From Rio de Janeiro
southward the fine terrigenous deposits become dominant, with absence of
carbonate sediments.
In their distinct phases, the differences in the structural patterns of the
crystalline basement and in the tectonic style of the evolution o f the Brazi-
28

lian continental margin, permit a separation into three parts in relation to

the coastal basins formed during the process of continental break-up.
The southern part started its evolution first, during the Late Jurassic. It
presents a tension tectonic style with faults more or less parallel to the
basement structures. The stratigraphical column of the then formed basins is
the most complete, concerning the lithological record of the successive stages
of the continental separation process. The northern part from Rio Grande do
Norte to the Amazon presents identical tectonic style, with faults almost
diagonal to the basement structures and a neo-Cretaceous superimposed
compression style. Its evolution and lithostratigraphic record dated from the
Albian on, with important deflections from the initial stages. The inter-
mediate part of Pernambuco and Paraiba contains the last basin to be formed
(during the Late Cretaceous) with structures perpendicular to the Precam-
brian basement directions, marking the border of the so-called 'transverse
zone'. It presents in relative terms a smaller subsidence, although the ten-
sional tectonic style has been confirmed.
The principal mineral resources of these basins are petroleum, gas, eva-
porites, carbonate rocks and sedimentary phosphate.

CONCLUSIONS

With its almost continental size, Brazil possesses very diverse geological
and geotectonical features, formed during different epochs of the earth's
history. The best synthesis of these features is given b y a division of the terri-
tory into ten structural provinces.
The provinces are based on the fundamental characteristics of their base-
ment rocks and younger covers, including lithology, structure and age.
Finally, also spatial distribution and geographical setting have been con-
sidered, so that every province represents a natural geological region. At the
present state of knowledge a b o u t Brazilian geology, the limits between these
provinces are chiefly arbitrary.
Three provinces -- Rio Branco, Tapaj6s and S~o Francisco - - i n c l u d e
ancient cratonic nuclei, composed of gneissic--migmatitic complexes, granu-
lites and also greenstones, whose youngest folded belts show a Middle Pre-
cambrian age. The Late Proterozoic cover occurs frequently in these cratons,
presenting immature clastic and volcanogenic lithologies as well as disconti-
nuous folding.
The other basement provinces -- Tocantins, Borborema and Mantiqueira --
are located adjacent to the three cratonic ones; their lithological and struc-
tural features were chiefly imposed during the Brasiliano Cycle (1000--500
m.y.), with evidence of a Proterozoic geosynclinal evolution. Thick molassic
covers of Cambro-Ordovician age testify to the end of this evolution.
Another three provinces refer to sedimentary covers, present in three
broad syneclises -- Parnalba, Paran~ and Amazon -- extending over hundreds
of thousand of square kilometers, whose evolutive processes are chiefly
 29

Paleozoic (post-Ordovician), showing some five thick cratonic sedimentary

sequences with isopachs of up to 5000 m in the depositional centre.
The youngest province is the Atlantic coast and continental margin, more
than 8000 km long. The sedimentary sequences have accumulated in coastal
grabens and half-grabens, as clastics and carbonates of Cretaceous and Ceno-
zoic age, and they form the evidence for the successive stages during the pro-
cess of continental break-up (rift) and beginning of continental drift.

[Received September 4, 1980]

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