Morphostructural compartments of the Itapemirim River Catchment, in the southern region of the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this work was to analyze the morphostructures of the Itapemirim River Catchment, located in the south of the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. The drainage network arrangement and the compartments of relief are controlled by geological structures, which are similar to the features that have been described along the Cenozoic Rift System in southeastern Brazil. The geologic framework of the Itapemirim River Catchment is part of the Mantiqueira Province and, in geomorphological terms, is part of the northern section of the Mantiqueira Ridge. Precambrian rocks of the crystalline basement make up most of the geological framework, while Cenozoic sedimentary deposits occur subordinately. The working tools of this project involved an analysis of the drainage network, lineaments, hypsometry, and the study of the distribution of sedimentary covers, using remote sensing technics and field descriptions. Three morphostructural compartments were identified in the Itapemirim River Catchment: the Coastal, Cachoeiro and Mantiqueira Compartments. Each compartment reflects different characteristics of the terrains, where erosion or aggradation processes predominate at different topographic levels that are delimited by structural lineaments. The complexity of topographic patterns and the drainage network in this area result from regions where erosional or depositional processes,which are controlled by tectonic process acting during the Cenozoic, predominate.