Geomorfologia e tectônica da formação Barreiras no Estado da Paraíba

Abstract

This work investigates structural and morphological aspects of the Coastal Tablelands in the State of Paraíba. These tablelands were developed predominantly on clayey-sandy sediments of the Barreiras Formation. This formation irregularly overlies, from west to east, the crystalline basement and sediments of the Paraíba Group, deposited in the Pernambuco-Paraíba marginal sedimentary basin. Integration and interpretation of information from cartographic, aerophotogrammetric surveys, satellite images, field work, topographic profiles, and water-well analyses provide ample evidence that tectonic reactivation of post-Cretaceous faults constitutes the most important factor controlling the morphological configuration of the study area. Reactivation of these faults not only uplifted and tilted geomorphological surfaces, but also accelerated downcutting, controlled dissection, and defined the compartmentalization and current configuration of the Coastal Tablelands.