The Itajaí group, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil: example of sedimentatidn in a foreland basin

Abstract

Based on stratigraphic analysis of the ltajai Group, four facies units are defined in a foreland basin context. Depositional characteristics indicate a significant change both in sedimentary supply and in the vertical succession of facies from the initial to final stages of stratigraphic evolution. The first unit is composed of retrograding continental to platform deposits, with supply from the N-NW cratonic margin. The second unit records sedimentation under deepwater conditions, with paleocurrents toward the S-SW The third unit reflects transgressive conditions, with pelitic deposits onlapping the northern margin of the basin. The fourth unit, overlying the other three, consists of prograding coastal systems, with supply from the orogenic margin of the basin, coming from S-SE.