Sepetiba Formation

The Sepetiba Formation (Portuguese: Formação Sepetiba) is a geological formation of the Santos Basin offshore of the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina. The predominantly coquina formation dates to the Pleistocene period to recent and has a variable but maximum thickness of 570 metres (1,870 ft). The formation is the uppermost unit of the Santos Basin.

Sepetiba Formation
Stratigraphic range: Pleistocene-Holocene ~2.6–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Itamambuca Group
Overlies	Iguape Fm., Marambaia Fm.
Thickness	up to 570 m (1,870 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Coquina
Location
Coordinates	26°6′S 43°43′W
Region	Santos Basin, South Atlantic
Country	Brazil
Type section
Named for	Sepetiba
Location of the Santos Basin

Close-up of a coquina; carbonitic sandstones composed of broken shells

Etymology

The formation is named after Sepetiba, a neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro.

Description

The Sepetiba Formation is the uppermost formation of the Santos Basin stratigraphy. It has a variable thickness, with a maximum of 570 metres (1,870 ft),^[1] due to the proximal erosion of the uppermost part. The formation consists of whitish grey fine to coarse grained carbonitic sands. They are feldspar-rich, glauconitic coquinas consisting of bivalve fragments and foraminifera. The depositional environment is thought to be coastal.^[2]

See also

• Brazil portal
• Geology portal

• Campos Basin