Geomorphology of Sergipe State

The state of Sergipe presents a varied mosaic of geomorphological landscapes, distributed in three different phytoclimatic regions known as semiarid, agreste and coast. In addition to the reworking of surfaces, caused by climate variability during the Pleistocene/Holocene, the action of neotectonic phenomena is remarkable in the rejuvenated structures of the mountains and in the morphotectonic control of the drainage network. In this way, it was decided to describe the morphology of the state of Sergipe by the subdivision of morphosculptures, individualized in the units of Depression Sertaneja, Domos de Itabaiana and Simão Dias and Planalto de Palmares in the western sector, coastal tablelands in the central/eastern range and river and coastal plains to the east. In the compartment unit of the Backwoods Depression, a flat relief predominates, punctuated by topographic caves of crystalline rocks. About landscapes of large rivers, there is evidence of neotectonic activity, exhibited by the Canyons of the São Francisco, Vaza Barris and also the Submarine Canyon of the mouth of the Japaratuba River. The coastal tablelands are found in several stretches under heavy dissection, when intersected by rivers of regional importance. On the short coastal strip are ubiquitous dynamic landscapes, dominated by wind and river action, associated with the dunes and lagoons, as in the Santa Isabel Biological Reserve, or by the great river plains. In the entire coastline it is possible to observe different sedimentary levels, corresponding to variability of marine levels in the Northeast Quaternary. Despite the state-of-the-art presented in this chapter, there are still many questions to be resolved that certainly future academic studies should complement.