Stratigraphy and structure of Cerro Jarau: new proposal

The Cerro do Jarau structure is located near the town of Quaraí, in the Rio Grande do Sul state, close to the international boundary with Uruguay. This circular feature has a diameter with approximately 8 km, presents some evidence of an origin by a meteoritic impact. It is located in the Paraná Basin and characterized by a central area with occurrence of sandstone surrounded by basalts of Serra Geral Formation. Previous works considered the structure as a dome-shaped feature. The objective of this paper is to present new data on the stratigraphy and structure of the Cerro Jarau, showing that the sandstones are structurally and stratigraphically overlying the basalts and both units exhibit centripetal dips. The structure of Cerro Jarau is therefore a basin-like feature and not a dome as admitted in previous studies.

stratigraphy; structure; Cerro do Jarau; impact crater