São Francisco Ridge
Encyclopedia
The São Francisco Ridge (in portuguese, Serra de São Francisco) is a topographic elevation in the Brazilian Highlands
, situated in the south of the cities of Votorantim
and Sorocaba
, state of São Paulo, Brazil
.
1654 by Baltazar Fernandes
and as the aim was to transform the local village, built a chapel dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Ponte. Esteves Braz Leme Braz Tevês stood near the mouth of the Sarapuí River and his son-Pascoal Moreira Cabral Leme
in place that would be called Serra de São Francisco (Votorantim). Braz Tevês and Pascoal Moreira Cabral Leme
built their big house in Itapeva starting the planting of sugar cane and the consequent use of milling. The farm, which was named São Francisco.
granite
dominant pink color, composition syenogranitic with fluorite
as locally accessory amphibole
and sodic. It subalkaline nature, type A, with locally rapakivi texture. Form extensive fields and rocky boulders. The age of this granite is Neoproterozoic
, estimated at 560 million years. It is one of the granites with high natural radioactivity of the state of Sao Paulo, either by their frequent exposure of rocky, with fractures, either by the same mineralogical composition. The highest values of natural radioactivity are recorded in the canyon of the Sorocaba River
, downstream from the Dam Itupararanga
. At the time of World War II
was to search tungsten
in the São Francisco Ridge. The work was done by geologist
Theodoro Knecht, who described the mineral occurrences of tin
and wolframite
in the western portion of the mountain, and endograisens associated with quartz
veins. Adjacent to the northern flank of the São Francisco ridge are the mining of limestone
for cement Votorantim Group
, the factories of St. Helena and Santa Rita, and other mines near the Pirapora river in the west part of the ridge. Along the eastern edge of the mountain is the municipality of Aluminium
, next to the aluminium
plant of Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio
(CBA).
, where the basement crystalline rocks dominate and shape the Appalachian fall line, as defined by Professor Ab'Saber
, being the limit with the low-lying areas of the Peripheral Depression, dominated the rocks of the Parana Basin
, the latter with gentle slope and mound. The highest elevations in the São Francisco ridge reach 1035 m (above sea level) in the eastern portion, near the headwaters of the river Pirajibú. The mountain becomes progressively lower toward Salto de Pirapora
in the west, where the altitudes are located around 800 m in this region there is an intersection of the mountain by the Pirapora River. The region of the mountain is the source of the Sorocaba River, formed by the rivers and Sorocabuçu Sorocamirim. The Itupararanga Dam
was built in Sorocaba river canyon. Dominate steep slopes on the north flank of the mountain, overlooking the Sorocaba
and Votorantim
, and softer on the south flank toward Piedade
.
that aims to protect all water sources, such as Itupararanga Dam
. The site is of special ecological interest because it represents one of the last refuges of wild fauna and flora and the region. Because the saw is supported by granitic rocks dominate lithosols paved and rock, where there is lush vegetation, except in reforestation located. On the northern flank of the mountain there is intense mining activity.
. In view of the foothills of São Francisco ridge, from the higher parts of Sorocaba and Votorantim, the mountain appears to be majestic, and similarly, from the Chilena viewpoint high on the Ipanema Hill
.
In the higher parts of the mountain there is the Penha Chapel, rebuilt in 1724 by Tim de Oliveira, still exists today in the hills. It is a landmark of the region and has been held annually for Votorantim pilgrimage to the site. Near the Penha Chapel, given the strategic point for telecommunications, television towers had.
In Itupararanga Dam
water sports and camping there. In recent years he has noticed an increase of cyclists visiting the mountain.
, Raimundo Soares Antunes, connecting Votorantim
to Piedade
, the old-Piedade Sorocaba road that passes through the São Francisco Farm, the road Votorantim linking to Itupararanga Dam
, roads departing from Brigadeiro Tobias and Inhaíba villages, Alumínio
and access between Votorantim and Salto de Pirapora
.
Brazilian Highlands
The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau are an extensive geographical region, covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all approximately half of the country's land area, or some 4,500,000 km²...
, situated in the south of the cities of Votorantim
Votorantim
Votorantim is a city located at the southwest of São Paulo State in Brazil with an estimated population of 107,157 as of 2006. The city is located about 100 km away from the capital of the state. It has 147 km² of rural area, 30 km² of urban area and a total area of 177 km².-Geography:It is located...
and Sorocaba
Sorocaba
Sorocaba is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sorocaba is the fourth largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo region, it ranks behind only Campinas, Sao Jose dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto...
, state of São Paulo, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
History
The origin of the name dates from the founding of SorocabaSorocaba
Sorocaba is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sorocaba is the fourth largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo region, it ranks behind only Campinas, Sao Jose dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto...
1654 by Baltazar Fernandes
Baltazar Fernandes
Baltazar Fernandes was a Portuguese colonist of Brazil who led the expeditions called Bandeirantes into the interior and laid the foundations of Sorocaba in the year 1654.-External links:*...
and as the aim was to transform the local village, built a chapel dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Ponte. Esteves Braz Leme Braz Tevês stood near the mouth of the Sarapuí River and his son-Pascoal Moreira Cabral Leme
Pascoal Moreira Cabral Leme
Pascoal Moreira Cabral Leme was a bandeirante who operated in the central region of South America. He found gold at the site which became the city of Cuiabá.-Gold:...
in place that would be called Serra de São Francisco (Votorantim). Braz Tevês and Pascoal Moreira Cabral Leme
Pascoal Moreira Cabral Leme
Pascoal Moreira Cabral Leme was a bandeirante who operated in the central region of South America. He found gold at the site which became the city of Cuiabá.-Gold:...
built their big house in Itapeva starting the planting of sugar cane and the consequent use of milling. The farm, which was named São Francisco.
Geology
The relief of the mountain is held by Granitic Massif São Francisco or simply Granite São Francisco, which is an elongated body according to a northeast-southwest intrusive metasedimentary rocks of the São Roque Group. It is a biotiteBiotite
Biotite is a common phyllosilicate mineral within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . More generally, it refers to the dark mica series, primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more aluminous endmembers...
granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
dominant pink color, composition syenogranitic with fluorite
Fluorite
Fluorite is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon...
as locally accessory amphibole
Amphibole
Amphibole is the name of an important group of generally dark-colored rock-forming inosilicate minerals, composed of double chain tetrahedra, linked at the vertices and generally containing ions of iron and/or magnesium in their structures.-Mineralogy:...
and sodic. It subalkaline nature, type A, with locally rapakivi texture. Form extensive fields and rocky boulders. The age of this granite is Neoproterozoic
Neoproterozoic
The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1,000 to 542.0 ± 1.0 million years ago. The terminal Era of the formal Proterozoic Eon , it is further subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran Periods...
, estimated at 560 million years. It is one of the granites with high natural radioactivity of the state of Sao Paulo, either by their frequent exposure of rocky, with fractures, either by the same mineralogical composition. The highest values of natural radioactivity are recorded in the canyon of the Sorocaba River
Sorocaba River
The Sorocaba River is a river of São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Tietê River. The river runs large and important part of the municipality of Sorocaba....
, downstream from the Dam Itupararanga
Itupararanga Dam
The Itupararanga Dam is a dam, located on the Sorocaba River in the Sorocaba region of São Paulo state. It was built by Light S.A. from 1913 to 1914. The plant started its operation on 25 March 1914. It forms a lake with more than 40 km and an area of 936 square kilometers with the main...
. At the time of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was to search tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
in the São Francisco Ridge. The work was done by geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
Theodoro Knecht, who described the mineral occurrences of tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
and wolframite
Wolframite
Wolframite WO4, is an iron manganese tungstate mineral that is the intermediate between ferberite and huebernite . Along with scheelite, the wolframite series are the most important tungsten ore minerals. Wolframite is found in quartz veins and pegmatites associated with granitic intrusives...
in the western portion of the mountain, and endograisens associated with quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
veins. Adjacent to the northern flank of the São Francisco ridge are the mining of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
for cement Votorantim Group
Votorantim Group
Votorantim Group is one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Latin America, operating in various sectors such as finance, energy, siderurgy, steel, pulp and paper among others...
, the factories of St. Helena and Santa Rita, and other mines near the Pirapora river in the west part of the ridge. Along the eastern edge of the mountain is the municipality of Aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, next to the aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
plant of Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio
Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio
Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio CBA is the largest aluminium producer in Brazil having a total annual production of around 480,000 tonnes.It is headquartered in the city of São Paulo.- History :...
(CBA).
Geomorphology
The ridge is part of the Brazilian HighlandsBrazilian Highlands
The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau are an extensive geographical region, covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all approximately half of the country's land area, or some 4,500,000 km²...
, where the basement crystalline rocks dominate and shape the Appalachian fall line, as defined by Professor Ab'Saber
Aziz Ab'Saber
Aziz Nacib Ab'Sáber is an environmentalist and one of Brazil´s most respected scientists, honored with the highest awards of Brazilian science in geography, geology, ecology and archaeology...
, being the limit with the low-lying areas of the Peripheral Depression, dominated the rocks of the Parana Basin
Parana Basin
The Paraná Basin is a large sedimentary basin situated in the central-eastern part of South America. About 75% of its areal distribution occurs in Brazil, from Mato Grosso to Rio Grande do Sul states. The remainder area is distributed in eastern Paraguay, northeastern Argentina and northern...
, the latter with gentle slope and mound. The highest elevations in the São Francisco ridge reach 1035 m (above sea level) in the eastern portion, near the headwaters of the river Pirajibú. The mountain becomes progressively lower toward Salto de Pirapora
Salto de Pirapora
Salto de Pirapora is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 40,063 and the area is 281.67 km². The elevation is 630 m....
in the west, where the altitudes are located around 800 m in this region there is an intersection of the mountain by the Pirapora River. The region of the mountain is the source of the Sorocaba River, formed by the rivers and Sorocabuçu Sorocamirim. The Itupararanga Dam
Itupararanga Dam
The Itupararanga Dam is a dam, located on the Sorocaba River in the Sorocaba region of São Paulo state. It was built by Light S.A. from 1913 to 1914. The plant started its operation on 25 March 1914. It forms a lake with more than 40 km and an area of 936 square kilometers with the main...
was built in Sorocaba river canyon. Dominate steep slopes on the north flank of the mountain, overlooking the Sorocaba
Sorocaba
Sorocaba is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sorocaba is the fourth largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo region, it ranks behind only Campinas, Sao Jose dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto...
and Votorantim
Votorantim
Votorantim is a city located at the southwest of São Paulo State in Brazil with an estimated population of 107,157 as of 2006. The city is located about 100 km away from the capital of the state. It has 147 km² of rural area, 30 km² of urban area and a total area of 177 km².-Geography:It is located...
, and softer on the south flank toward Piedade
Piedade, São Paulo
Piedade is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 53,492 and the area is 747.22 km². The elevation is 781 m.-Neighboring Cities:* Ibiúna* Pilar do Sul* Salto de Pirapora* Tapiraí* Votorantim...
.
Environment
Much of the São Francisco ridge is within the Environmental Protection Area APA of Itupararanga DamItupararanga Dam
The Itupararanga Dam is a dam, located on the Sorocaba River in the Sorocaba region of São Paulo state. It was built by Light S.A. from 1913 to 1914. The plant started its operation on 25 March 1914. It forms a lake with more than 40 km and an area of 936 square kilometers with the main...
that aims to protect all water sources, such as Itupararanga Dam
Itupararanga Dam
The Itupararanga Dam is a dam, located on the Sorocaba River in the Sorocaba region of São Paulo state. It was built by Light S.A. from 1913 to 1914. The plant started its operation on 25 March 1914. It forms a lake with more than 40 km and an area of 936 square kilometers with the main...
. The site is of special ecological interest because it represents one of the last refuges of wild fauna and flora and the region. Because the saw is supported by granitic rocks dominate lithosols paved and rock, where there is lush vegetation, except in reforestation located. On the northern flank of the mountain there is intense mining activity.
Tourism and leisure
From the top of the mountain you can have a spectacular view of the region of Sorocaba, including Ipanema HillIpanema Hill
The Ipanema Hill , "also known as Araçoiaba Ridge or "Serra de Araçoiaba", is a prominent and isolated topographic elevation in area about 5069 ha, located in the region of Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil...
. In view of the foothills of São Francisco ridge, from the higher parts of Sorocaba and Votorantim, the mountain appears to be majestic, and similarly, from the Chilena viewpoint high on the Ipanema Hill
Ipanema Hill
The Ipanema Hill , "also known as Araçoiaba Ridge or "Serra de Araçoiaba", is a prominent and isolated topographic elevation in area about 5069 ha, located in the region of Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil...
.
In the higher parts of the mountain there is the Penha Chapel, rebuilt in 1724 by Tim de Oliveira, still exists today in the hills. It is a landmark of the region and has been held annually for Votorantim pilgrimage to the site. Near the Penha Chapel, given the strategic point for telecommunications, television towers had.
In Itupararanga Dam
Itupararanga Dam
The Itupararanga Dam is a dam, located on the Sorocaba River in the Sorocaba region of São Paulo state. It was built by Light S.A. from 1913 to 1914. The plant started its operation on 25 March 1914. It forms a lake with more than 40 km and an area of 936 square kilometers with the main...
water sports and camping there. In recent years he has noticed an increase of cyclists visiting the mountain.
Access
Access roads are Route SP-79SP-79
The SP-79 is a highway in the southeastern part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil.-Names:*Celestino Americo, Tenente *Convençao Republicana, Rodovia *Guilherme Hovel-Svd, Padre...
, Raimundo Soares Antunes, connecting Votorantim
Votorantim
Votorantim is a city located at the southwest of São Paulo State in Brazil with an estimated population of 107,157 as of 2006. The city is located about 100 km away from the capital of the state. It has 147 km² of rural area, 30 km² of urban area and a total area of 177 km².-Geography:It is located...
to Piedade
Piedade, São Paulo
Piedade is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 53,492 and the area is 747.22 km². The elevation is 781 m.-Neighboring Cities:* Ibiúna* Pilar do Sul* Salto de Pirapora* Tapiraí* Votorantim...
, the old-Piedade Sorocaba road that passes through the São Francisco Farm, the road Votorantim linking to Itupararanga Dam
Itupararanga Dam
The Itupararanga Dam is a dam, located on the Sorocaba River in the Sorocaba region of São Paulo state. It was built by Light S.A. from 1913 to 1914. The plant started its operation on 25 March 1914. It forms a lake with more than 40 km and an area of 936 square kilometers with the main...
, roads departing from Brigadeiro Tobias and Inhaíba villages, Alumínio
Alumínio
Alumínio is a Brazilian city of the state of São Paulo. The population in 2003 is 16,019 and the area is 83.7 km². Its latitude is 23.5331/23°32'6" S and the longitude is 47.5625/47°15'43" W The elevation is 790 m. Alumínio is located east of Sorocaba and is also a suburban area...
and access between Votorantim and Salto de Pirapora
Salto de Pirapora
Salto de Pirapora is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 40,063 and the area is 281.67 km². The elevation is 630 m....
.