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5.2.2 The East Coast Coastal Tropical in Brazil
The east coast (Fig. 5.6) extends from the Cabo de São Roque, in Rio Grande do
Norte, all the way to the Cabo de São Tomé, in Rio de Janeiro. A striking feature of
this section is the presence of sandy beaches, barrier island systems and sandy-clay
sediments of the Neogene age, locally known as the Formação Barreiras (Barrier
Formation).
This formation stands out due to the existence of deep valleys and steep edges,
and a general surface inclined towards the coast, thus creating Tabuleiros Costeiros
(Coastal Tablelands), characteristic of this section as illustrated in Fig. 5.7 (Andrade
and Dominguez 2002).
It is worth noting that the east coast has sandstone reefs and corals, such as the
Abrolhos Reef Complex, illustrated in Fig. 5.8, which is considered the largest and
the richest coral reef system in the South Atlantic (Andrade and Dominguez 2002).
Fig. 5.6 East coast of the Brazilian coastline
S.O. Souza et al.
5.2.2 The East Coast Coastal Tropical in Brazil
The east coast (Fig. 5.6) extends from the Cabo de São Roque, in Rio Grande do
Norte, all the way to the Cabo de São Tomé, in Rio de Janeiro. A striking feature of
this section is the presence of sandy beaches, barrier island systems and sandy-clay
sediments of the Neogene age, locally known as the Formação Barreiras (Barrier
Formation).
This formation stands out due to the existence of deep valleys and steep edges,
and a general surface inclined towards the coast, thus creating Tabuleiros Costeiros
(Coastal Tablelands), characteristic of this section as illustrated in Fig. 5.7 (Andrade
and Dominguez 2002).
It is worth noting that the east coast has sandstone reefs and corals, such as the
Abrolhos Reef Complex, illustrated in Fig. 5.8, which is considered the largest and
the richest coral reef system in the South Atlantic (Andrade and Dominguez 2002).
Fig. 5.6 East coast of the Brazilian coastline
S.O. Souza et al.