conditioning structural of relief in Northeast Brazilian

This paper presents a review about the morphostrutural control played by brittle and ductile basement structures on the relief in northeastern brazil. Our study indicates that continental denudation have been controled by both differential erosion and tectonics. In this aspect, the exhumation along NE-SW and E-W striking shear zones originates lineaments, which confine the drainage channels and guide the dissection and sometimes fluvial aggradation. This process results in ridges and valleys that control the flow channels, which become indicators of shear zones and faults. This process is also observed in sedimentary basins, where dissection along fault zones form tectonic valleys that constitute the geomorphic expression of the fault reactivation.