Jalapão: Sedimentary Heritages in Central Brazil

Abstract

The Jalapão region, a region with undefined boundaries located in central Brazil, has unique scenic beauty and unmatched physical features. It has a set of residual landforms with flat tops and scarped slopes resulting from the regressive erosion of large tabular features such as the Serra Geral and the Ocidental da Bahia and Mangabeiras plateaus. Geologically, it generally consists of a crystalline basement and the Parnaíba and Sanfranciscana sedimentary basins, which are covered by recent deposits. However, geomorphology of the region is still poorly recognized, although some specific features are known, such as canyons, dunes, caves, bubbling springs, and several residual landforms caused by intense local erosive action. This chapter aims to describe the geomorphology of the area and to explain the existing features and geomorphologic processes.