Amazonian Craton

The Amazonian Craton is a geologic province in South America occupying a large portion of the continent's central, north and eastern regions, and it is one of Earth's largest cratonic regions. Its exhumed northern and southern portions form the Guiana Shield and the Central Brazilian Shield respectively, with the tectonically weak Amazon Rift lying between them. Smaller Precambrian cratons lie to its south and east, the Rio de la Plata Craton and the Sao Francisco Craton, and the Rio Apa Craton at the Paraguay-Brazil border is considered likely to be simply the southern part of the Amazonian Craton itself.