1978-2018 – The 40 years of the first attempt to apply the French detailed geomorphological cartography to the wet tropical zone of Brazil: history, principles of the legend, changes and its diffusion in the country

Abstract

The French detailed geomorphological cartography (RCP.77 legend) was first applied in Brazil in 1978, when the charts of the Peixe River Valley in Marília – State of São Paulo (1:100,000 scale), São Pedro – State of São Paulo (1:50,000 scale), Lagoa Santa Karst – State of Minas Gerais (1:50,000 scale), and Landforms and Superficial Formations of the Medium Valley of the Parateí River – State of São Paulo (1:25,000 scale) were published. Characterized by the high-level of detail in landform mapping, even at medium scales, this legend design is divided into morphogenetic sections, which establish relations between process and forms. Improvements have been adopted in the legend design since 1978 due to the specific objectives of each research, resources available to perform the studies, and the differences between the wet tropical climate of Brazil and the environmental conditions in France, where the legend was created. Unfortunately, only the researchers of the Laboratory of Pedology of the University of São Paulo and people directly influenced by them have adopted this legend in their studies. The limited diffusion of the RCP.77 legend in Brazil may be a consequence of the difficulties to prepare and interpret the maps which follow this legend, unavailability of large to medium scale aerial photos and cartographic bases covering most of the Brazilian territory, lack of studies related to genesis of landforms, and availability of other legends that are easier to be applied. The new remote sensing techniques and research about surface formations provide new possibilities to the use of the RCP.77 legend in Brazil.