Evolution of knowledge about the Paraná Igneous Province: from the beginning to the early 1950's

Abstract

This article reviews the pioneering research on the Paraná Igneous Province beginning with field studies in the middle of the 19th century which identified the distribution of the volcanic rocks, the thickness of the extrusive sequence, the flow faciology, the presence of intrusive rocks, the transitional contact between the first flows and the Botucatu sandstones, the model of fissure volcanism and the presence of pyroclastic rocks. Laboratory studies (geochemistry and petrography) identified the presence of basic and acidic rocks, the regional trend in the iron and magnetite contents, sin- and post-magmatic hydrothermal events and also their products like chloritization, zeolites, gemstones and copper. Based on these discoveries, first attempts were made to correlate the austral basaltic provinces to solve the "Gondwanaland" puzzle.