Geology of Brazil

Brazil Travel / Geology - The Mesozoic Era was initiated with the most devastating geotectonic event, the Earth has ever witnessed. For unknown reasons, a mantle plume eplosion beneath Pangea, beneath an area which nowadays is Siberia, triggered enormous volcanic eruptions which lasted for over 1 million years. Over 95% of all species were extincted.

With the beginning of the Jurassic (~ 200 Ma), Pangea started rifting, splitting into Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. Gondwana started to break - up in the mid Jurassic (170 Ma) with the separation of its eastern part. The western part containing the prototypes of South America and Africa rifted between 140 and 90 Ma initiating the opening of the South Atlantic (90 - 0 Ma).

The Mesozoic South America - Africa break up was accompanied by intensive mafic volcanism that flooded the basins of Paraná (Brazil) and Etendeka (Africa), with voluminous basaltic lava flows (Serra Geral Formation) (see São Joaquim, Serra Geral, Aparados da Serra).

On its way westwards during the Cretaceous (145 - 65 Ma), South America drifted over a mantle plume whose deflected lava flows caused several alkaline magmatic events in southeastern Brazil (see Itatiaia / Ilhabela).