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Sedimentary Geology 296 (2013) 920

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Sedimentary Geology
jo u rn a l h o m ep ag e: w w w .el se vie r.c o m/ lo ca te/ se dg e o

Provenance of Pliocene and recent sedimentary deposits in western

Amaznia, Brazil: Consequences for the paleodrainage of the
Solimes-Amazonas River
Adriana Maria Coimbra Horbe , Marcelo Batista Motta , Carolina Michelin de Almeida ,
Elton Luiz Dantas , Lucieth Cruz Vieira
Departamento de Geocincias, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Av. General Rodrigo Otvio Jordo Ramos, 3000, Coroado, 69077-000 Manaus, AM, Brazil
Servio Geolgico do Brasil, CPRMManaus, Programa de Ps-Graduao em Geocincias, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Av. Andr Arajo, 2160, Coroado, 69060-000 Brazil
Instituto de Geocincias, Universidade de Braslia, Campus Universitrio Darcy Ribeiro, Braslia, 70910-900 Braslia, Brazil

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 10 August 2012
Received in revised form 30 July 2013
Accepted 31 July 2013
Available online 6 August 2013
Editor: J. Knight
Keywords:
I Formation
Iquitos Arch
Zircon grain typology
Heavy detrital minerals
UPb geochronology

a b s t r a c t
Integrated data on paleocurrents, the morphology of detrital minerals and zircon grains, chemical compositions
and UPb geochronology, reveal that the ow of the modern Solimes-Amazonas River has changed from west to
east since the PlioPleistocene. This nding is supported by several lines of evidence, including paleocurrent directions and detrital mineral assemblages in the I Formation and in recent sediments. The I Formation, which
was most likely deposited during the Pliocene, has NE and SE paleocurrents, a high proportion of stable detrital
mineral assemblages and UPb zircon ages that we interpreted as being derived from the Amazonian craton (e.g.,
the Rondonian-San Igncio and Sunsas-Grenvillian geochronologic provinces) and neighboring provinces, including the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Brazilian Pampean mobile belts. A small proportion is derived from
the Cambrian to Silurian Famatinian continental arch. Another source is the Precambrian and Paleozoic basement
from the Andes cordillera, which includes several metamorphic inliers in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. The overlying recent deposits have different provenances and are characterized by a more variable detrital assemblage with
zircon grains that are enriched in trace elements and depleted in Si and have Mesoproterozoic ages. In our interpretation, the erosion of the Iquitos Arch after deposition of the I Formation allowed the westward expansion of
the Solimes-Amazonas system in the Plio-Pleistocene.
2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The uplift and subsequent orogenic deformation of the Andes has
caused important paleogeographic changes in western Amaznia since
the Miocene. The marine connection with the Caribbean sea closed,
the courses of the Magdalena and Orinoco rivers changed, Andean foreland basins formed due to exural subsidence and the Amazonas
established a connection to the Atlantic, increasing the mass accumulation rates of terrigenous sediments in the Amazonas fan (e.g., Hoorn
et al., 1995; Hooghiemstra and Van der Hammen, 1998; Dobson et al.,
2001; Roddaz et al., 2005b; Wesselingh and Salo, 2006; Latrubesse
et al., 2007; Figueiredo et al., 2009). Because the effects of these changes
are not clear, different proxies for the geodynamics of the SolimesAmazonas River must be considered. Hoorn et al. (1995); Dobson
et al. (2001) and Wesselingh and Salo (2006) stated that the architecture of the modern Solimes-Amazonas River formed since the

Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: ahorbe@ufam.edu.br (A.M.C. Horbe), marcelo.motta@cprm.gov.br
(M.B. Motta), carolina_almeida@ufam.edu.br (C.M. de Almeida), elton@unb.br (E.L. Dantas),
lucieth@gmail.com (L.C. Vieira).
0037-0738/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2013.07.007

late Miocene. Campbell et al. (2001) interpreted that the Andean contribution to the Atlantic occurred in the end of the Pliocene (2.5 Ma),
while Bezzerra (2003) and Rossetti et al. (2005) interpreted it as occurring in the late PleistoceneHolocene.
The aim of this paper is to study detrital minerals from the I Formation and associated recent deposits along the Solimes River, both
of which represent the youngest sedimentation event recognized in
the Amazonia region, to establish their sediment sources (provenance)
and to investigate the formation of the modern Solimes-Amazonas
River and their connection to the Atlantic Ocean. These two units are
part of the large sedimentary Solimes-Amazonas basin and therefore
might clarify the geological evolution and timing of the development
of the present course of the Solimes-Amazonas River systems. In addition, we will discuss the in uence of the Iquitos Arch and Andes rocks in
the sedimentation and landscape evolution of western Amaznia. To
answer these questions, we selected the six most signi cant outcrops
in the cliffs, islands and bars along the Solimes River between the cities
of Tef and Manaus (Fig. 1). According to Maia et al. (1977) and Melo
and Villas Boas (1993), the cliffs along the river correspond to the I
Formation, whereas the islands and bars are composed of recent riverbed sediments.

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Fig. 1. (A) Location map showing the main Paleozoic sedimentary basins: Amazonas in the east side, Solimes in the center and the Peru and Bolivia foreland Amazon basin (NAFB and
SAFB after Roddaz et al., 2005a, 2005b) in the west side in a SRTM image. The limits of the I Formation in black (CPRM, 2006) and the limit of the Solimes-Amazon hydrographic
basin in red; (B) Geology and location of the samples in the study area, S stratigraphic section of the I Formation, SD samples from recent deposits. The Solimes Formation occurs in
a large region in the west of the I Formation and in a few outcrops in the study area (1B); (C) Simpli ed chronostratigraphic diagram of the studied units in the Solimes Paleozoic basin.

2. Geological setting
The western portion of the Amazonas River in Brazil is called the
Solimes River and drains the Andean cordillera, the sedimentary rocks
of the Solimes Paleozoic basin, and the Central Brazil and Guyana shields
(Amazonian craton) (Fig. 1A, B). The two youngest sedimentary units of
the Solimes Paleozoic basin are the Solimes Formation (called the
Pebas Formation in Peru and Colombia) and the I Formation (Fig. 1C).
Several studies have investigated the sedimentary environment and
palynology of the Solimes Formation (e.g., Caputo and Silva, 1991;
Hoorn, 1994; Hoorn et al., 1995; Leguizamn Vega, 2005; Wesselingh
and Salo, 2006; Latrubesse et al., 2007). These studies indicate that the
Solimes Formation occupied a large lowland area adjacent to the Andean foreland basins (Roddaz et al., 2005a) (Fig. 1A) and was deposited
during the late Miocene (1110 Ma; Cozzuol, 2006; Latrubesse et al.,
2007) in a uvio-lacustrine to transitional marine environment. Its
upper part is composed of thin to thick sandstone layers interspersed
with massive white-reddish clay layers that are centimeters to meters
thick, and the lower part is composed of gray-greenish clay layers that
contain plant fossil, sh teeth and scales, evidence of bioturbation and
root marks. The Andes and the Amazonian craton are considered to be

the source area for the rocks that make up this formation (Hoorn
et al., 1995; Latrubesse et al., 2007).
In contrast, the I Formation, which overlies the eastern part of the
Solimes Formation (Fig. 1) above an erosive unconformity (Maia et al.,
1977; Leguizamn Vega, 2005), has not been well studied and cannot
be dated by biostratigraphy because of the lack of fossils. It is characterized predominantly by whitish to reddish yellow sandstone that is
intercalated with grayish-reddish silty-clay lenses and is thought to be
PlioPleistocene (Maia et al., 1977; Melo and Villas Boas, 1993) or Late
PleistoceneHolocene (Rossetti et al., 2005) in age. The I Formation
has been correlated to the Madre de Dios Formation in Peru
(Campbell et al., 2006). However, the exact extents of the I and
Solimes Formations are controversial because they are present in a
large, fairly inaccessible region. Moreover, Leguizamn Vega (2005)
described sedimentary rocks related to the Solimes Formation along
the Solimes River (Fig. 1B). Quaternary deposits overlie both the
Solimes and I Formations along the Solimes-Amazonas River.
They formed by the erosion of the Andes and Amazon craton cover
the lowland regions that formed an extensive Quaternary uvial plain
tens of kilometers in length during avulsion of the Solimes-Amazonas
Rivers (Latrubesse and Franzinelli, 2002).

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3. Materials and methods

Eighty samples were collected for detrital heavy mineral analysis; 61
samples came from six sections of the I Formation on the right bank of
the Solimes River, and 19 came from recent sediments on islands and
sandbars between Tef and Manacapuru, Central Amaznia (Fig. 1).
The minerals were separated from fractions of 0.1250.250 mm and
0.0620.125 mm using an elutriator and heavy liquids and then
mounted on glass slides in Canada balsam. An average of 200 transparent grains per slide was identi ed and counted using a petrographic microscope and the ribbon counting procedures of Mange and Maurer
(1992). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to supplement the
mineral identi cation. Zircon grain morphologies were examined
under a scanning electron microscope (SEM-LED 1450 VP) at the
Museu Emilio Goeldi and Universidade Federal do Par, Brazil, and classi ed using the methodology of Pupin (1980). Ninety- ve individual
detrital zircon grains from the I Formation and the recent sediments
were analyzed by electron microprobe (JEOL JSM 6400) at the University of Western Australia. UPb dating of 307 in situ zircon grains from
sections 1 and 4 of the I Formation and the recent sediments was carried out with a Thermo Finnigan Neptune multi-collector inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-MC-ICP-MS) at the University
of Braslia, Brazil, according to the methods of Bhn et al. (2009).
4. Results
4.1. Geological characteristics of the sedimentary units
The I Formation corresponds to a hilly surface with cliffs up to 30 m
high and extends along the Solimes River for at least 400 km between
the Tef and Purus Rivers (Fig. 1). This formation comprises whitish

11

sandstones, massive rhythmites, pelites and conglomerate with trough

cross-bedding, cross-laminations, ripple marks, ripple cross-laminations,
sigmoidal strati cation, tabular cross-strati cation, root marks, peds and
some wood fossils (Fig. 2). These sediments were most likely deposited
in point-bar and oodplain environments, and the paleocurrent data indicate ow to the NE and SE (Fig. 3).
The recent sediments that are present along the Solimes River in
the study area, which form kilometer-long islands and bars, are neto medium-grained to locally coarse-grained sands. Longitudinal sections along the Solimes River show low-angle and tabular crossstrati cation with WE direction ux.
4.2. Detrital mineral assemblage
We identi ed the same range of mineral grains in both sedimentary
units, including mica (biotite and anandite), andalusite, sillimanite, zircon, kyanite, staurolite, pyroxene (ferrosilite and enstatite), tourmaline
(dravite and uvite), garnet (almandine, spessartine and knorringite),
amphibole (crossite and tirodite), monazite, rutile, epidote (mukhinite),
anatase, brookite, titanite, topaz, and olivine (Table 1; Fig. 4). However,
there is a clear distinction between the units. The detrital mineral composition in the I Formation can be divided into two different groups.
The lower part of this unit has a higher andalusite content, while the
upper part is dominated by mica, zircon and kyanite with less tourmaline
and garnet (Table 1; Fig. 2). The proportion of zircon decreases from west
to east along the river in the study area.
In contrast, the recent deposits have a higher proportion of pyroxene
and amphibole than the I Formation (Table 1; Fig. 5). The light detrital
grains in both units, such as quartz and feldspar, are angular to subrounded, and some rock fragments such as gneiss, quartzite, and sandstone are present in the coarse fraction of all sections.

Fig. 2. Schematic sections of the I Formation and proportion of detrital grain minerals in the 0.1250.062 mm and 0.2500.125 mm fractions.

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Fig. 3. Paleocurrent direction data of the I Formation.

The zircontourmalinerutile ternary diagram (ZTR; Fig. 6A) does

not show signi cant differences in the contents of the I Formation
and the recent deposits. However, the proportion of ZTR minerals relative to the more stable (KSAnd: kyanite + sillimanite + andalusite)
and unstable (EpPAmp: epidote + pyroxene + amphibole) mineral
assemblages varies; the I Formation has a higher proportion of ZTR
and KSAnd relative to EpPAmp (Fig. 6B) and an increasing proportion
of EpPAmp toward the recent sediments. However, the proportion of
ZTR minerals, mica and andalusite discriminates the lower part of the

I Formation from the upper part (Fig. 7). These data suggest that the
two units have different source areas (provenance).

4.3. Detrital zircon grain morphology and chemical composition

Based on the study of zircon grain morphology, Pupin (1980) proposed 64 possible forms that are related to crystallization temperature
(550 to 900 50 C); the forms are controlled mainly by the volatiles

Table 1
Detrital mineral grains' (Fig. 4) average content in % identi ed in the I Formation (n = 61) and recent deposits (n = 19) (Tr = trace amount; = not found).
I Formation
Mineral

Mica
Andalusite
Sillimanite
Zircon
Kyanite
Staurolite
Pyroxene
Tourmaline
Garnet
Amphibole
Monazite
Rutile
Epidote
Anatase
Brookite
Titanite
Topaz
Olivine

Recent deposits

Lower part

Upper part

0.2500.125 mm

0.1250.062 mm

0.2500.125 mm

0.1250.062 mm

18
1459
126
324
223
122
119
115
112
19
16
18
13
1
Tr
Tr
Tr
Tr

18
3048
130
230
122
128
123
116
19
119
14
112
16
13
Tr
Tr
Tr
Tr

838
14
433
246
233
121
115
16
13
117
15
18
15
12

Tr

771
12
134
446
126
113
118
19
12
116
16
111
12
1

Tr

0.2500.125 mm

0.1250.062 mm

12
210
114
419
437
136
245
15
111
328

17
220
Tr

2
12
19
245
128
129
1056
113
19
240

214
27

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Fig. 4. Macroscopic characteristics of detrital mineral grains found in the I Formation and in the recent deposits.

content of the magma, particularly H O, and its chemical composition.

While temperature is responsible for the development of prismatic
faces (100) relative to faces (110), the Al O /Na O + K O ratio controls
the growth of pyramidal faces; i.e., a high Al O content promotes
the development of faces (211) and (112). However, increasing
Na O + K O content favors faces (101) and (301). Based on the Pupin
classi cation, we identi ed 20 types of zircon shapes in the selected
grains by considering well-preserved faces associated with round and
sub-round crystals in the I Formation (Table 2; Fig. 8). The upper
part is characterized mainly by a higher content of the S18 type relative
to the lower part (Table 2). Among the 14 identi ed types in the recent
deposits, types S3, S17 and S22 appear to be exclusive to this unit.

Thus, the zircon morphology suggests that types D, S12 and S13
may be related to tholeiitic and calc-alkaline granite magma sources.
However, types S8 and S24, which occur only in the lower portion of
the I Formation, and type S3 in the recent sediments, appear to be
sourced from aluminous leucogranites, monzogranites and granodiorites, which are major crustal magma derivatives. Type S18, which
is more common in the uppermost portion of the I Formation,
could be correlated with more alkaline granitic magma source
rocks (Pupin, 1980). In all cases, the main sources are reworked continental crust.
In addition to the different zircon grain types, the chemical composition based on the ratio of Zr + Hf + Y + REE + Nb + Ta + W +

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Fig. 5. Proportion of detrital mineral grains in the recent sediments in the 0.1250.062 mm and 0.2500.125 mm fractions.

Fig. 6. Ternary diagrams: (A) zircontourmalinerutile (ZTR) and (B) ZTREpPAmp (epidote (Ep) + pyroxene (P) + amphibole (Amp))KSAnd (kyanite (K) + sillimanite (S) + andalusite
(And)). Black dots 0.1250.062 mm fraction, gray dots 0.2500.125 mm fraction.

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Fig. 7. Distribution of zircontourmalinerutile (ZTR), mica and andalusite along the I Formation sections.

Pb + Th + U (i.e., cations in the octahedral position) to Si (cations in

four-fold coordination) can be used to discriminate between the sedimentary units. The zircon grains in the lower I Formation have higher
Si and lower Zr + Hf + Y + REE + Nb + Ta + W + Pb + Th + U
contents than those in the upper part of the formation (Fig. 9A, B). However, although most of the zircon grains found in the recent deposits are
chemically similar to those in the I Formation, the type S12 and S13
zircon grains have higher Zr + Hf + Y + REE + Nb + Ta + W +
Pb + Th + U and lower Si contents (Fig. 9C). This suggests that a different source area from that of the I Formation contributed to the deposition of the recent sediments.
4.4. UPb geochronology
The I Formation yields a UPb age spectrum (see Supplementary
data le) that is dominated by two main populations according to the
stratigraphic location in the unit; 49% of the detrital zircons with ages
between 0.9 and 1.2 Ga, and 33% of zircons with ages between 0.2 to
0.6 Ga, are located in the lower part of the I Formation, while 47%

and 20% of these zircons, respectively, are in the upper part. The upper
part also contains almost 7% of the detrital zircons that are older than
2.6 Ga (Fig. 10A, B). The recent deposits have a UPb age spectrum
that is similar to that of the I Formation, but the proportions of zircons
with ages from 0.6 to 0.7 Ga and 1.3 Ga are different (Fig. 10C).
5. Discussion
5.1. Mineral provenance
The complex geologic evolution of western Amaznia, the juxtaposition of several geological provinces and the insuf cient geochronological
data make it dif cult to determine the precise source area of the I Formation sediments. However, the detrital zircon UPb age spectrum,
which is dominated by Mesoproterozoic zircon ages from 1.6 to 1.0 Ga
(Fig. 10, Supplementary data le), indicates that the provinces of the
southwest Amazonian craton, and primarily the Rondonian-San Igncio
and Sunsas-Grenvillian provinces (Tassinari and Macambira, 1999;
Santos et al., 2000; Geraldes et al., 2001; Ruiz et al., 2004; Fuck et al.,

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Table 2
Detrital zircon grains' type (Fig. 8) contents in % identi ed in the I Formation (n = 61)
and recent deposits (n = 19) (Tr = trace amount; = not found).
Zircon types

I Formation

Recent deposits

Part

D
S2
S3
S7
S8
S11
S12
S13
S17
S18
S19
S22
S24
J4
J5
I
G1
P4

Lower

Upper

41
1

3
3
5
7
15

1
6

3
3
5

37

6
6
12

12
4

7
4

2
1

26

8
Tr

8
13
8
4

10
12

3
4
1

2008), were the main sources of the sediments in the I Formation

(Fig. 11). This hypothesis is supported by the mineral assemblages that
are found in these mobile belts, which are typical of high grade granulite
and amphibolite facies metamorphism and include pyroxene, sillimanite
and kyanite.
The UPb zircon data that range from Neoproterozoic to Silurian
times indicate another potential subordinate source area in the provinces adjacent to the Amazonian craton (e.g., the BrazilianPampean
mobile belts and the Famatinian continental arch) and the basement
of the Andes cordillera that is represented by several metamorphic
inliers in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia (e.g., Litherland et al., 1989;
Restrepo-Pace et al., 1997; Fuck et al., 2008; Cardona et al., 2009;
Casquet et al., 2010; Decou et al., 2013) (Fig. 11). The NESE sediment
paleocurrent directions and the high content of stable detrital minerals
with metamorphic and calc-alkaline chemical signatures also suggest
the input of sediments produced by the weathering of these geochronological provinces in the I Formation. The underlying Solimes basin
units and the older provinces that are present in the Amazonian craton
are also sources of sediments for the I Formation and the recent sediments; this is indicated by the nearly 7% of the Archean detrital zircon
ages that are in the grains in these sediments. However, the source of
the Archean grains in the study area is unknown. The differences in
the chemical composition of the zircon grains (Fig. 9) and in the mica
and andalusite contents (Fig. 7) between the upper and lower parts of
the I Formation indicate different sources, although the zircon grains
in both parts of the formation have similar UPb age signatures
(Fig. 10).
However, the recent deposits have a westerly paleocurrent direction
that reveals a change in the uvial system of the Solimes-Amazonas
basin; this requires a different source of sediments from those found
in the I Formation. The new source is located to the west and brought
sediments with a higher content of unstable minerals (EpPAmp) and
lower proportions of zircons with ages between 0.6 and 0.7 Ga and
greater than 1.3 Ga compared with the I Formation (Fig. 10C). The
S3, S17 and S22 zircon grain types, which are typical of the recent deposits and the zircon grains with higher trace element and lower Si contents (Fig. 9), support the change of sediment source. This western
source may have contributed to the upper part of the I Formation
(i.e., zircon chemistry and age; Figs. 9, 10); however, the absence of geochronological data from the primary rock makes it dif cult to identify
this source.

5.2. Implications for the PlioPleistocene drainage of the Amazon

Based on the paleocurrents, detrital mineral compositions and zircon
grain UPb ages, we postulate that the present-day Solimes-Amazonas
River architecture, with its westerly ow direction, might be more recent
than the Pliocene the probable age of the I Formation because the
Solimes Formation is late Miocene in age (Cozzuol, 2006; Latrubesse
et al., 2007). This interpretation that the Solimes-Amazonas River developed its present architecture only after the Pliocene, and most likely
in the PlioPleistocene, indicates that the Iquitos Arch (Fig. 11, Roddaz
et al., 2005b) was a physical barrier until the end of deposition of the
I Formation and blocked the input of sediments from the west. This
nding is consistent with the NE and SE paleocurrents measured in this
formation.
Considering the hypothesis above and the progressively increasing
deposition rate over the last 10 Ma (Dobson et al., 2001; Figueiredo et
al., 2009; Figueiredo et al., 2010) in the Amazonas fan, we have the following scenario in the region:
i. During 10.5 to 6.8 Ma when the deposition rate was low in the Amazonas fan (Figueiredo et al., 2009 and Figueiredo et al., 2010) the
Solimes basin was isolated from the Amazonas basin by the Purus
Arch. The Solimes Formation was deposited in the western portion
of the basin, and the Amazonas fan was dominated by sediment
from the center of the Amaznia, including the Amaznia Central
and Maroni-Itacainas provinces (Fig. 10), as proposed by
Figueiredo et al. (2009).
ii. From 6.8 to 2.4 Ma when the sedimentation rates increased, occurred
the westward expansion of the hydrological system, which bypassed
the Purus Arch and the Amazonas River captured the Solimes River
as a result of rising sea levels. The I Formation was deposited during
this time, with uvial sediment ux to the northwest (Putumayo and
Japur Rivers?) and the southwest (Juru and Purus River?) and
Andean sediments started to arrive to the Amazon fan.
iii. The present architecture of the Solimes-Amazonas River, which
bypasses the Iquitos Arch and carries sediment from the west,
was established by 2.4 Ma, when the sedimentation rates increased further (Figueiredo et al., 2009).
Thus, in our paleogeographic model, the I Formation was deposited from 6.8 to 2.4 Ma and had its main sources in the NW and SW
Mesoproterozoic Amazonian provinces with subordinate younger
sources (Fig. 11). The Iquitos Arch only began to be eroded after deposition of the I Formation, which allowed westerly ow of sediments from the Andes to contribute to the recent sediments in a
second westward expansion of the hydrological system.
Our proposal for the deposition of the I Formation and for the age
of the Solimes-Amazonas Rivers agrees with the interpretation of the
Madre de Dios Formation in Peru by Campbell et al. (2001, 2006).
6. Conclusions
The provenance techniques employed in this study, including
paleocurrent data, detrital mineral and zircon grain morphology, chemical compositions, and UPb geochronology, revealed that the main
sources of the I Formation were the Mesoproterozoic provinces
from the Amazonian craton and the neighboring younger provinces to
the northwest and southwest. The I Formation, which was most likely
deposited during the Pliocene, has a high proportion of stable detrital
minerals, morphology and chemical signatures and proportionality of
provenance ages of the zircon grains that are opposite of those of the recent sediments, which suggests different source areas during deposition
of these units.
In our hypothesis, the Amazonas River had captured the Solimes
River by the Pliocene, bypassing the Purus Arch in a westward expansion of the hydrological system that allowed the I Formation to be deposited with sediment derived from the NWSW. By 2.4 Ma, after

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Fig. 8. Zircon grain forms in accordance to Pupin (1980) classi cation.

bypassing the Iquitos Arch, a westerly sediment ow and the present

Solimes-Amazonas River con guration had been established. This is
important in better establishing the landscape development of western
Amaznia since the Miocene.

Acknowledgments
This research was supported by CNPq (Conselho Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Cient co e Tecnolgico, grant no. 620003/2006-

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Fig. 10. UPb geochronology data of detrital zircon grains from the I Formation (A. lower
part, B. upper part) and C. recent deposits. See Supplementary data le for full data set.
Fig. 9. Zr + Hf + Y + ETR + Nb + Ta + W + Pb + Th + U versus Si concentration in
the zircon grains from the I Formation (A. lower part, B. upper part) and recent deposits
(C).

8) and CLIM-AZON (grant no. 295091). M. B. Motta thanks CAPES

(Coordenao de Aperfeioamento de Pessoal de Nvel Superior)
for awarding him a scholarship. We are also grateful to H. T. Costi
(Museu Goeldi Belm, Brazil) and to C. Lamaro (Universidade
Federal do Par - Belm, Brazil) for assistance with the SEM analyses
and to J. Muhling (University of Western Australia) for the microprobe analyses.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2013.07.007.
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Fig. 11. Geological map of the Amaznia region showing the geochronological provinces of the Amazon craton and surrounding regions after Tassinari and Macambira (1999), Fuck et al.
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