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The São Francisco Craton and Its Margins

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São Francisco Craton, Eastern Brazil

Part of the book series: Regional Geology Reviews ((RGR))

Abstract

The Brazilian shield, land surface expression of the Precambrian nucleus of South America, exposes cratons and a network of Neoproterozoic orogenic belts. The cratons correspond to internal parts of plates that amalgamated to form West Gondwana by the end of the Neoproterozoic and beginning of the Paleozoic. The Neoproterozoic Brasiliano belts, on the other hand, encompass the margin of those plates and accreted terranes. As one among five old and differentiated components of the South American lithosphere, the São Francisco craton (SFC) of southeastern Brazil represents the most intensively studied Precambrian terrain of the continent. This chapter contains introductory information on the SFC, which display attributes typical of the ancient lithosphere and hosts a rock record that spans from the Paleoarchean to the Cenozoic. Together with its bounding orogenic belts the SFC can be viewed as continent within a continent or a continent in miniature. Here, we present a panoramic view of the craton and its marginal belts, briefly discuss the history of its definition and delimitation, and conclude with an outline of the present book.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculdade de Geologia, Tektos Research Group, Universidade do Estado Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Bloco A-4020, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20.550-900, Brazil

    Monica Heilbron

  2. Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Lago, 562, São Paulo, SP, 05508-080, Brazil

    Umberto G. Cordani

  3. Departamento de Geologia, Escola de Minas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto, MG, 35.400-000, Brazil

    Fernando F. Alkmim

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  1. Monica Heilbron
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  2. Umberto G. Cordani
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  3. Fernando F. Alkmim
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Monica Heilbron

  2. Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Umberto G. Cordani

  3. Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil

    Fernando F. Alkmim

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Heilbron, M., Cordani, U.G., Alkmim, F.F. (2017). The São Francisco Craton and Its Margins. In: Heilbron, M., Cordani, U., Alkmim, F. (eds) São Francisco Craton, Eastern Brazil. Regional Geology Reviews. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01715-0_1

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