The Lower Karoo Group is a sequence of late

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

and

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

s of the

Karoo Supergroup The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Kalahari Desert. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the Late Carboniferous and Early Jurassic, a perio ...

, found in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Geology

The Lower Karoo corresponds to the lower portion of the

sequence. The basal unit comprises glacial

tillite image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

s, being the Dwyka Formation in the Mid-Zambezi Basin, Basal Beds in the Limpopo basins and Kondo Pools Formation in the Mana Pools and Cabora Bassa Basins. These are overlain in the Mid-Zambezi by the Wankie

s and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

and the Madumabisa Mudstone It is overlain and overstepped by the

Upper Karoo Group The Upper Karoo Group is a sequence of Triassic to Early Jurassic sedimentary and volcanic rocks found in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It comprises the Escarpment Grit (in the Mid-Zambezi and Limpopo basins) and the Angwa Sandstone (in the M ...

. In the Mana Pools and Cabora Bassa Basins, the Kondo Pools Formation is overlain by the Mkanga Formation sandstone and mudstones.

References

{{coord missing, Zambia Geologic groups of Africa Geologic formations of Botswana Geologic formations of Mozambique Geologic formations of Zambia Geologic formations of Zimbabwe Permian System of Africa Carboniferous System of Africa Sandstone formations Coal in Africa Karoo

Geology

See also

References