The South American Platform has a size of about 15.000.000 square kilometers and forms the core or nucleus of
South America.
40% of the platform is exposed in three
Precambrian (> 542 Ma) shields:
Guiana (GS), Central Brazil or Guaporé (CBS) and
Atlantic (AS) shields.
60% of the platform is covered by several
Phanerozoic (< 542 Ma) sedimentary basins (syneclises),
being the largest the
Paleozoic basins of the
Paraná (PR), Parnaíba (PN) and Amazon (AM) rivers.
Brazil (dotted line)
occupies 75% of the South American Platform, which is often referred to as the
Brazilian Platform.