Vargeão Dome constitutes a rare example of a complex meteoritic impact structure formed in the Cretaceous volcanic lava flows of Serra Geral Formation, in South America. This conspicuous circular depression has its center at 26º49'S and 52º10'W and a diameter of 12.4 km. Impact deformation features found at Vargeão include shatter cones in sandstone and basalt, as well as planar deformational features in quartz. Available geophysical data for this structure comprise airborne magnetics and seismic surveys, which were processed and interpreted in combination with remote sensing data, such as digital elevation model generated by the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) and Radarsat-1 and TERRA/ASTER satellites images. Magnetic and seismic data analysis allowed: (i) to interpret it as shallow structure, with a strongly deformed zone underneath; (ii) to associate a magnetic high spatially coincident with the central portion of the structure to the occurrence of pseudotachylite impact breccia; (iii) to associate the circular magnetic low located near the rim of the structure to the occurrence of large blocks of the Ácidas Chapecó volcanics unit. Favorable exposure of the shocked rocks, combined with easy access, makes this impact structure potentially important for conducting analogue studies of planetary surfaces, thus helping to understand the evolution of solid bodies such as the Moon, Mars, Venus, among others.
impact crater; shock metamorphism; volcanic lava flows; Serra Geral Formation
