Brazil Eco Adventure Tours
Rainforest - Hiking & Biking - Wildlife

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 formations 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 (e.g. São Joaquim, Serra Geral, Aparados da Serra and Iguaçu).