Geological Travel

Brazil Tours / Geology - The eroded volcanic rocks of the Paraná flood basalts which constitute the Serra Geral mountain range are the main ecotouristic attraction for travelers in South Brazil. You can appreciate them when you take a tour to one of the national parks, such as São Joaquim, Serra Geral, Aparados da Serra or Foz do Iguaçu.

Serra Geral is a mountain range south of Serra do Mar that represents the eroded oriental border of the so - called Serra Geral Formation, one of the sedimentary layers of the Paraná Basin.

It is the result of the largest continental volcanic magmatism known on Earth which ocurred during the Upper Cretaceous (145 - 100 Ma). At that time, the prototypes of today's continents South America (the South American Platform) and Africa were still united as part of the supercontinent Pangea.

Their separation was preceded by a voluminous tholeiitic magmatism whose basaltic lava flooded the basins in the south of Pangaea (Paraná, Etendeka, Angola), giving rise to the Paraná - Etendeka Magmatic Province.

The heat source which caused this magmatism, was probably generated by a large mantle plume situated in the Earth's mantle. The volcanic rocks of the lava sequences which reach thicknesses of up to 1.700 m and the canyons originated by tectonic movements and by the erosion of wind and water, are nowadays the main ecotouristic attraction of many national parks in South Brazil.