in Minas Gerais and Bahia. In the Mesoproterozoic, the Rio de la Plata Craton (beneath southern Brazil), the vast Amazonia Craton, and the small São Luis Craton and sections of the Congo Craton which form the basement rock of much of Brazil were joined with Africa.

Earlier, during the Archean, the São Francisco Craton developed between 3.2 and 2.6 billion years ago and grew as microcontinents collided with it, forming a series of mobile belts. The rocks became