Geomorphology of the Maranguape and Aratanha massifs, Borborema Province, Northeast of Brazil

Many granitic reliefs of the Borborema Province are found in the Ceara Central Domain, which constitutes a tectonic compartment that was uplifted during the rift and post-rift phases of the Cariri-Potiguar system. These granitic massifs are dissociated, due to the greater resistance to denudational processes, in relation to the surrounding basement. The present work aims to propose a geomorphological interpretation for the Aratanha and Maranguape massifs, based on recent advances in local geological interpretation and regional morphostructural data. The method used consisted of a detailed bibliographic review on the genesis and evolution of granite massifs, associated with cartographic interpretation and fieldwork. As a result, we can summarize that the current relief reflects the combination of characteristics inherited from past events, such as the crustal subduction of the Goias-Faurasian Ocean, intracontinental rifting, marginal flexure and Cenozoic magmatism, which were fundamental in the intensification of denudational cycles, in the exhumation and rejuvenation of the massifs, and in the cyclical reworking of the surrounding basement. These events, associated with the faciology of the porphyritic granites and syenogranite that make up the study area, account for the current morphological configuration of the elevated sectors.