Chapada Diamantina

Chapada Diamantina is a region of Bahia state, in the Northeast of Brazil.

The Chapada Diamantina has a dramatic landscape with high plains, table-top mesas, and steep cliffs or towers known as 'tepuy.' Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 19th century, the only local inhabitants of the region were indigenous Indians from the Maracas and Cariris tribes.

In 1985, the Chapada Diamantina National Park was created with its headquatrers in Palmeiras.

Chapada Diamantina is an erosional landform in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The Chapada Diamantina runs from North to South in the middle of Bahia and is an extension of the Espinhaco Range System. The rocks in the system date back to Pangaea and erosion of the formation began in the Precambrian eon. The Range System has an erosional outlier that exposes a contact, the Pai Inacio Anticlilne. The Pai Inacio Anticline is 25km wide and exposes the sedimentary rocks of the Paraguacu group. At the contact there are two different rock groups exposed one being the Chapada Diamantina and the Paraguacu, with the Chapada Diamantinea overlaying the Paraguacu group. The two rock groups not only in elasticity but in composition as well. The Chapada Diamantina is primarily compsed of sandstone, pelites and diamond bearing conglomerates. The Paraguacu is composed of fine-grained sandstones, siltstones and argillites. The rocks of the Paraguacu are softer and therefore more sucptible to weathering and folding. It is the folds in the Paraguacu that allows for the entry of water into the rock’s structure which in turn is responsible for the erosion.

References

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http://www.biosferabrasil.com/meu_destino.php?cod_destino=4&idioma=i

http://www.lendasdocapao.com.br/vale/historias_en.html

http://vsites.unb.br/ig/sigep/sitio072/sitio072english.htm