Adamastor Ocean
The Adamastor Ocean was a "proto-Atlantic" ocean that opened with the break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent 780-750 Ma. It separated the Río de la Plata Craton from the Congo Craton. The inversion of the Adamastor Ocean began 640 Ma with the development of a large back-arc basin along the western margin of the Kalahari Craton, and the ocean closed when Río de la Plata collided with Kalahari about 545 Ma along the sinistral Sierra Ballena Shear Zone.[1] The São Francisco plate and the Río de la Plata plate amalgamated 630–620 Ma, closing the Adamastor Ocean on the South American side and forming the Mantiqueira Mountains around 600 Ma.[2]
It was named after the mythical giant Adamastor in Vasco da Gama's writings.
See also
References
- ^ Rapela et al. 2007, 7.6 Tectonic Model, p. 76
- ^ Brito Neves, Campos Neto & Fuck 1999, Mantiqueira branched systems of orogens, pp. 161–162