Book contents
- Quaternary Environmental Change in Southern AfricaPhysical and Human Dimensions
- Quaternary Environmental Change in Southern Africa
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- 1 The context of Quaternary environmental change in southern Africa
- 2 A brief geological history of southern Africa
- 3 A continental-scale perspective on landscape evolution in southern Africa during the Cenozoic
- 4 Hominin origins and evolution during the Neogene
- 5 Hominin evolution in Africa during the Quaternary
- 6 Quaternary environmental change on the southern African coastal plain
- 7 Dating the southern African landscape
- 8 Glacial and periglacial geomorphology
- 9 Colluvial deposits and slope instability
- 10 Desert dune environments
- 11 Changes in fluvial systems during the Quaternary
- 12 Wetlands in southern Africa
- 13 Sandy coasts
- 14 Environmental change during the Pleistocene and Holocene: Estuaries and lagoons of southern Africa
- 15 Soils and duricrusts
- 16 Karstic systems
- 17 Terrestrial ecosystem changes in the late Quaternary
- 18 Faunal evidence for mid- and late Quaternary environmental change in southern Africa
- 19 Pollen, charcoal and plant macrofossil evidence of Neogene and Quaternary environments in southern Africa
- 20 Minerogenic microfossil records of Quaternary environmental change in southern Africa
- 21 Development of the archaeological record in southern Africa during the Earlier Stone Age
- 22 Development of the archaeological record during the Middle Stone Age of South Africa
- 23 Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers and herders
- 24 Southernmost Africans, archaeology and the environment during the Holocene
- 25 Landscape–climate–human relations in the Quaternary of southern Africa
- Index
- References
2 - A brief geological history of southern Africa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2016
Book contents
- Quaternary Environmental Change in Southern AfricaPhysical and Human Dimensions
- Quaternary Environmental Change in Southern Africa
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- 1 The context of Quaternary environmental change in southern Africa
- 2 A brief geological history of southern Africa
- 3 A continental-scale perspective on landscape evolution in southern Africa during the Cenozoic
- 4 Hominin origins and evolution during the Neogene
- 5 Hominin evolution in Africa during the Quaternary
- 6 Quaternary environmental change on the southern African coastal plain
- 7 Dating the southern African landscape
- 8 Glacial and periglacial geomorphology
- 9 Colluvial deposits and slope instability
- 10 Desert dune environments
- 11 Changes in fluvial systems during the Quaternary
- 12 Wetlands in southern Africa
- 13 Sandy coasts
- 14 Environmental change during the Pleistocene and Holocene: Estuaries and lagoons of southern Africa
- 15 Soils and duricrusts
- 16 Karstic systems
- 17 Terrestrial ecosystem changes in the late Quaternary
- 18 Faunal evidence for mid- and late Quaternary environmental change in southern Africa
- 19 Pollen, charcoal and plant macrofossil evidence of Neogene and Quaternary environments in southern Africa
- 20 Minerogenic microfossil records of Quaternary environmental change in southern Africa
- 21 Development of the archaeological record in southern Africa during the Earlier Stone Age
- 22 Development of the archaeological record during the Middle Stone Age of South Africa
- 23 Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers and herders
- 24 Southernmost Africans, archaeology and the environment during the Holocene
- 25 Landscape–climate–human relations in the Quaternary of southern Africa
- Index
- References
Summary
Abstract
The geological history of southern Africa extends back to 3650 Ma with the great majority of the resultant rock record formed in the Precambrian period (>545 Ma). This history is described chronologically as a series of events starting with the formation of the Kaapvaal Craton in the Mesoarchaean and ending with the formation of a series of Mesozoic basins between 135 and 115 Ma during the break-up of Gondwana. The tropical climate of the Cretaceous period facilitated deep weathering and rapid erosion, with the bulk of eroded sediments deposited on the continental shelf. The Cenozoic was characterised by tectonic uplift and a cooling climate which controlled the processes responsible for shaping southern Africa’s current topography. The geologic history of southern Africa is reflected in present-day patterns of landforms, soils and ecosystems, which have affected resource availability and thus patterns of human activity.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Quaternary Environmental Change in Southern AfricaPhysical and Human Dimensions, pp. 18 - 29Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2016
References
Armstrong, R. A., Compston, W., Retief, E. A., Williams, I. S. and Welke, H. J. (1991). Zircon ion microprobe studies bearing on the age and evolution of the Witwatersrand triad. Precambrian Research, 53, 243–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beukes, N. J. and Cairncross, B. (1991). A lithostratigraphic-sedimentological reference profile for the late Archaean Mozaan Group, Pongola Sequence: Application to sequence stratigraphy and correlation with the Witwatersrand Supergroup. South African Journal of Geology, 94, 44–69.Google Scholar
Botha, G. A. (2000). Paleosols and Duricrusts. In The Cenozoic of Southern Africa, ed. Partridge, T. C. and Maud, R. R.. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 131–144.Google Scholar
Brandl, G., Cloete, M. and Anhauesser, C. R. (2006). Archaean Greenstone Belts. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 9–56.Google Scholar
Broad, D. S., Jungslager, E. H. A., McLachlan, I. R. and Roux, J. (2006). Offshore Mesozoic Basins. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 553–571.Google Scholar
Burke, K. (1996). The African Plate: The 24th Alex du Toit Memorial Lecture. South African Journal of Geology, 99, 341–409.Google Scholar
Compston, W. and Kröner, A. (1988). Multiple zircon growth within early Archaean tonalitic gneiss from the Ancient Gneiss Complex, Swaziland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 87, 13–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornell, D. H., Armstrong, R. A. and Walraven, F. (1998). Geochronology of the Proterozoic Hartley Formation, South Africa: Constraints on the Kheis tectogenesis and the Kaapvaal Craton’s earliest Wilson Cycle. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 26, 5–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Wit, M. J., de Ronde, C. E. J., Tredoux, M., Roering, C., Hart, R. J., Armstrong, R. A., Green, R. W. E., Peberdy, E. and Hart, R. A. (1992). Formation of an Archaean continent. Nature, 357, 553–562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, A. R. and Marsh, J. S. (2006). The Karoo Igneous Province. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 501–520.Google Scholar
Eglington, B. M. and Armstrong, R. A. (2004). The Kaapvaal Craton and adjacent orogens, southern Africa: A geochronological database and overview of the geological development of the craton. South African Journal of Geology, 107, 13–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eriksson, K. A. (1980). Transitional sedimentation styles in the Moodies and Fig Tree Groups, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa: Evidence favouring an Archaean continental margin. Precambrian Research, 12, 141–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gold, D. J. C. (2006). The Pongola Supergroup. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 135–147.Google Scholar
Gresse, P. G., von Veh, M. W. and Frimmel, H. E. (2006). Namibian (Neoproterozoic) to early Cambrian successions. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 395–420.Google Scholar
Heubeck, C., Engelhardt, J., Byerly, G. R., Zeh, A., Sell, B., Luber, T. and Lowe, D. R. (2013). Timing of deposition and deformation of the Moodies Group (Barberton Greenstone, Belt, South Africa): Very-high-resolution of Archaean surface processes. Precambrian Research, 231, 236–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofmann, A. (2005). The geochemistry of sedimentary rocks from the Fig Tree Group, Barberton greenstone belt: Implications for tectonic, hydrothermal and surface processes during mid-Archaean times. Precambrian Research, 143, 23–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J. (eds) (2006a). The Geology of South Africa. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, 691pp.Google Scholar
Johnson, M. R., van Vuuren, C. J., Visser, J. N. J., Cole, D. I., de V. Wickens, H., Christie, A. D. M., Roberts, D. L. and Brandl, G. (2006b). Sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Supergroup. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 461–499.Google Scholar
Kramers, J. D., McCourt, S., Roering, C., Smit, C. A. and van Reenen, D. D. (2011). Tectonic models proposed for the Limpopo Complex: mutual compatibilities and constraints. In Origin and evolution of Precambrian high-grade gneiss terranes, with special emphasis on the Limpopo Complex of southern Africa, ed. van Reenen, D. D., Kramers, J. D., McCourt, S. and Perchuk, L. L.. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, Memoir 207, pp. 311–324.Google Scholar
Marshall, C. G. A. (2006). The Natal Group. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 433–441.Google Scholar
McCarthy, T. S. (2006). The Witwatersrand Supergroup. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 155–186.Google Scholar
McCarthy, T. and Rubidge, B. (2005). The story of Earth & Life: A southern African perspective on a 4.6-billion-year journey. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 333pp.Google Scholar
McCourt, S., Kampunzu, A. B., Bagai, Z. and Armstrong, R. A. (2004). The crustal architecture of Archaean terranes in Northeastern Botswana. South African Journal of Geology, 107, 147–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCourt, S., Armstrong, R. A., Grantham, G. H. and Thomas, R. J. (2006). Geology and evolution of the Natal Belt, South Africa. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 46, 71–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, J. M., Polteau, S., Armstrong, R.A., Corfu, F. and Tsikos, H. (2012). The age and correlation of the Postmasburg Group, southern Africa: Constraints from detrital zircon grains. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 64, 9–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Partridge, T. C. and Maud, R. R. (1987). Geomorphic evolution of southern Africa since the Mesozoic. South African Journal of Geology, 90, 179–208.Google Scholar
Partridge, T. C., Botha, G. A. and Haddon, I. G. (2006). Cenozoic deposits of the interior. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 585–604.Google Scholar
Poujol, M., Robb, L. J., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Gericke, B. (2003). A review of the geochronological constraints on the evolution of the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa. Precambrian Research, 127, 181–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robb, L. J., Brandl, G., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Poujol, M. (2006). Archaean Granitoid Intrusions. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 57–94.Google Scholar
Robb, L. J. and Meyer, F. M. (1995). The Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa: Geological framework and mineralization processes. Ore Geology Reviews, 10, 67–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, D. L., Botha, G. A., Maud, R. R. and Pether, J. (2006). Coastal Cenozoic Deposits. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 605–628.Google Scholar
Shone, R. W. (2006). Onshore post-Karoo Mesozoic deposits. In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 541–552.Google Scholar
Thomas, R. J., Marshall, C. G. A., Watkeys, M. K., Fitch, F. J. and Miller, J. A. (1992) K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Natal group, Southeast Africa: A post Pan-African molasse? Journal of African Earth Sciences, 15, 453–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Reenen, D. D., Kramers, J. D., McCourt, S. and Perchuk, L. L. (eds) (2011). Origin and Evolution of Precambrian High-Grade Gneiss Terranes, with Special Emphasis on the Limpopo Complex of Southern Africa. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, Memoir 207, 324pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watkeys, M. K. W. (2006). Gondwana break-up: A South African perspective In The Geology of South Africa, ed. Johnson, M. R., Anhaeusser, C. R. and Thomas, R. J.. Pretoria: Geological Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience, pp. 531–539.Google Scholar
- 1
- Cited by