as a result, the region where rio de janeiro is now located experienced a series of crustal stresses and fractures -  this pressure and heat combined to form the serra do mar, the mountain ridges that run along rio de janeiro's coastline.

this is also the time when the pão de açúcar, along with rio de janeiro's other, less famous granite ridges emerged from the depths of the earth. these mountains gained their unique shape because of the particularly intense process of erosion in the area.

it is striking to note how massive these early collisions truly were, when contrasting the height of these mountains with the flat lowlands of rio de janeiro's coast - the altitude of these ridges reach nearly 3000 meters not far from the ocean.