Volcanic Activity in Brazil

Brazil's Volcanic Activity
Brazil is located at the center of the South American plate, which means it is far away from the edges of tectonic plates. Unlike Chili and other countries located on the continent’s western edge, and are part of the volcanic “Ring of Fire”. This is the reason why there hasn’t been any active volcanoes in Brazil in a while. While there hasn’t been any active volcanic eruptions in Brazil in recent years, there are many signs that suggest that the country has experienced volcanic activity in the past.
Rio’s Sleeping Giant (O Gigante Adormecido)

Just above Rio de Janeiro is the “Patole” which is a 60-mile-long sheet of pure granite that was formed by consolidated igneous rock from an ancient volcanic eruption. This was once a massive reservoir of magma but because it never made its way to ground level it instead formed the Serra dos Orgaos mountains. It is believed that in the past the Patole was a gigantic volcano but has since then been destroyed and has eroded away.

Southern Brazil


Along the South coast Brazil is the coast of Torres, this is where you will find the Aparados da Serra National Park. This park includes the beautiful Iguazu Falls. These falls were formed by the erosion of volcanic rock long ago. About 65 million years ago, during the Mesozoic Era, over 600,000 square miles of the Parana River basin was filled with around 400,000 cubic miles of basaltic lava. No one knows if this was from a single enormous volcano or a series of smaller volcanoes that could have been the area. 


The Trindade and Martin Vaz Archipelago
Currently the only potentially active volcano remaining in Brazil is located on the island of Trindade, which is about 620 miles east of the Brazilian coast. At the moment the island is inhabited only by a colony of green sea turtles and sea birds. This the most eastward point of Brazilian territory. These islands were a result of volcanic activity that occurred deep below the Atlantic Ocean. This is the site of Brazil’s largest rookery. Thankfully there is currently no permanent human population here despite past attempts at colonization, though it is visited by researchers and periodically occupied by teams from the Brazilian Navy.

http://bellatravelonline.com/tours/active-extinct-volcanoes-tour-brazil/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/nt0172
http://www.invivo.fiocruz.br/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?UserActiveTemplate=english&infoid=1275&sid=43

Comments

  1. Ana GGFebruary 29, 2020 at 1:39 PM

    I love that you addressed the ancient volcanoes here as well!. most countries have those!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 1, 2020 at 10:34 AM

    Great post, as I read about potential activity of the volcano at the Island of Trindade I thought it could be due to its closer proximity to the Mid Atlantic Ridge; I seems however, that it is closer to Victoria-Trindade Ridge, which is believed to have a hot spot similar to the one in Iceland. The hot spot at the Trindade Ridge is thought to be responsible for the creation of the Trindade and Martim Vaz archipelago. I thought this was very interesting, because I am researching Iceland which also has a hot spot which is also believed to share responsible for the creation of the island of Iceland.

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