Neoproterozoic shear zones divide this province into terranes that merged during the formation of West Gondwana (South America and Africa).
Intracontinental rifts developed in the early Palaeozoic and when the central Atlantic opened during the late Mesozoic dike swarms and sills were emplaced, including the hundreds of kilometres long Rio Ceará-Mirim dike swarm.
[4] On the Amazonian craton west of the Borborema Province, a sedimentary basin, the 600,000 km2 (230,000 sq mi) Parnaíba Basin, covers the shear zones and dikes and partially hides two major magmatic events: the older flood basalts related to the 200 Ma Central Atlantic Magmatic Province and a set of younger sills and dikes.
[3] The 135 Ma Paraná-Etendeka LIP was emplaced during the opening of the South Atlantic and resulted in the Walvis Ridge-Rio Grande Rise hotspot trail.
Even though the EQUAMP and Paraná-Etendeka formed under similar circumstances and are roughly coeval, their distinct geochemical compositions indicates different mantle sources for the two events.