Abstract In the NE edge of the Paraná Continental Magmatic Province (PCMP), compound pahoehoe, simple pahoehoe, rubbly flows, pillow lava, and simple pahoehoe/pyroclastic flows linked to ring structures with lithofacies associations have been identified. They belong to the Cretaceous Serra Geral Group. Intercalations of Cretaceous sedimentary deposits linked to the Botucatu Formation are common and can be of aeolian, alluvial, or, more rarely, lacustrine nature. These recurring intercalations indicate that volcanism and sedimentation occurred simultaneously and also attest to their intermittent nature. Geological characteristics of the study area - broadly dominant entablature structure, hypocrystalline basalts with quench textures, types of associated sedimentary deposits, and pillow lavas - support the idea that water was present during volcanic events, especially in the central portion. The recurrence of facies associations in the same stratigraphic section is discussed and is quite different from the stratigraphy that has been described for the south of the PCMP. A preliminary investigation using P2O5 content allowed the identification of five P2O5 basalt types. The distribution of these classes in the logs shows that elaborating a valid chemostratigraphic column for the region is not yet possible.

Abstract: This study covers the region between the cities of Sacramento and Araguari/Uberlândia (Minas Gerais State, Brazil), where basalt flows from the Paraná Continental Magmatic Province outcrop. The investigated rocks present tholeiitic signature, with high titanium content, and are classified as Pitanga magma-type. The preserved basalt thickness is between 10 and 200 meters and individual flows do not exceed 15 meters thick. Flows were identified as sheet lobes, smaller and thinner flows units - stacked laterally and vertically forming compound lavas -, or frontal, centimetric lobes. The basalt flows show decimetric to metric intercalations of clastic sedimentary rock, with depositional characteristics that can vary from aeolian to lacustrine, and are important markers on prevailing environmental conditions. The plagioclases are dominantly labradorite and pyroxene is augite, whereas olivine can be hyalosiderite or hortonolite/ferrohortonolite. The behavior of the major, minor and trace elements is compatible with the presence of at least two parental magmas, which were subjected to fractional crystallization mainly of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, ilmenite and magnetite. There is a chemistry distinction between basalts from Sacramento to those from Araguari/Uberlândia region, the former one showing more evolved than the last one. The high (La/Lu)N values are indicative of partial melting of a garnet peridotite, while the Rare Earth Elements (REE) values are indicative of fractional crystallization.

ABSTRACT: The Serra Geral Formation belongs to the Paraná-Etendeka Magmatic Province (PEMP) and its geochemical and petrographic characteristics are not homogeneous. Many studies segment this group into six basaltic and two rhyolitic magma-types. It is believed that its extrusion occurred through crustal fissures in the Cretaceous, but some authors described the presence of conduits in the shape of basaltic ring structures (BRS) in the Água Vermelha region in the North of the province. The BRS rocks, based on textures and structures, were divided into four groups-central flow, basal flow, main ring dyke and lava flow-with a very similar petrography, composed of plagioclase (labradorite-bytownite), clinopyroxene (augite) and oxide (titanomagnetite) with intergranular texture. The whole-rock analyses of the basal and lava flows allow classifying them as tholeiitic basalts of the Paranapanema magma-type. Geochemical data interpretation suggests an enriched magma source, with low degree of partial melting, high depth of melt generation and without significant crustal contamination. The BRS experienced fractional crystallization on shallow magma chamber, influenced by successive new injections from different parental magmas which would be responsible for the pulses of effusion and explosion. Thus, the singularities of the BRS of Água Vermelha are important to comprehend the evolution of the PEMP.