Facultatea de Geologie si Geofizica

Universitatea Bucuresti

Geologie istorica

Evolution of the Karoo

sedimentary basin

Autori:
Dobrin Sebastian 303B
Ene Vlad 302A

Olteanu Dan-Cristian 302A

Voiculescu Alexandru 302B

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to present the evolution of the Karoo sedimentary basin,
from its inception to its extinction. Situated in South Africa, it is a retroarc foreland basin developed
in front of the Cape Fold Belt, wich is made up of rock formations from Late Carboniferous to Early
Jurassic. In fact, it forms the thickest and stratigraphically most complete megasequence of several
depositories of Permo-Carboniferous to Jurassic age in south-western Gondwana.
Due to it being a foreland basin, there is a clear distinction between the southern and the
northern part. The southern part is close to the CFB, and thus it is considered proximal, while the
northern part is distal. A lack of correlation between formations can be observed, and also a thinning
of the formations from south to north
The climates in wich the deposition took places was quite different in Karoos history, and
thus a shift from glaciar to deep water, shallow water and finally arid depositional system can be
observed. Accomodation was also affected by different processes at different moments in Karoos
history.
The Karoo basin is famous for being rich in fossil-bearing rocks having quite an importance in
dating some formations.

Introduction
The sediment sequence preserved in the Karoo basin, South Africa preserves a record of the
moment in Earth's history when the Pangea supercontinent was at it's maximum extent, during the
Late Paleozoic Early Mesozoic interval.
The start of sedimentation is considered to be around 300 Ma after a major tectonic event in the
southern margin of the continent that led to
the assembly of Pangea. Sedimentation in the
basin was almost continuous throughout the
time until the breakup of Gondwana when
sediment input was halted and the basin was
filled by a large igneous province.
In order to understand the means of
sedimentation, first we must look at the
original settings. Karoo basin is considered a
retro-arc foreland basin, that is situated over
the Cape supergroup (Fig. 0). The distinction
between the two can be made due to a 30 Ma
sedimentation hiatus that is blamed upon the
formation of the foreland system, especially
the fore-bulge. Migration of the foredeep has
also influenced the area, the earliest Karoo
sedimentary rocks (330300 My) re thought to
have been overthrusted, cannibalized and
included within the structures of the Cape Fold
Belt.

Fig. 0. Crustal evolution of southern Africa

Tectonic settings

The Karoo basins (fig 1) of south-central Africa evolved during the first-order cycle of supercontinent
assembly and breakup of Pangea,under the influence of two distinct tectonic regimes sourced from
the southern and northern margins of Gondwana.
The southern tectonic regime was related to processes of subduction and orogenesis along the
Panthalassan (palaeo-Pacific) margin of Gondwana, which resulted in the formation of a retroarc
foreland system known as the main Karoo Basin, with the primary subsidence mechanisms
represented by flexural and dynamic loading. This basin preserves the reference stratigraphy of the
Late CarboniferousMiddle Jurassic Karoo time, which includes the Dwyka, Ecca, Beaufort and
Stormberg lithostratigraphic units.

North of the main Karoo Basin, the tectonic regimes were dominated by extensional or
transtensional stresses that propagated southwards into the supercontinent from the divergent
Tethyan margin of Gondwana.
Superimposed on the tectonic control on basin development, climatic fluctuations also left a mark on
the stratigraphic record, providing a common thread that links the sedimentary fill of the Karoo
basins formed under different tectonic regimes. As a general trend, the climate changed from cold
and semi-arid during the Late Carboniferousearliest Permian interval,to warmer and eventually hot
with fluctuating precipitation during the rest of Karoo time.
Due to the shifts in tectonic and climatic conditions from the southern to the northern margins of
Africa during the Karoo interval,the lithostratigraphic character of the Karoo Supergroup also
changes significantly across the African continent.
For this reason, the Karoo basins sensu stricto(fig.1), which show clear similarities with the main
Karoo Basin of South Africa, are generally restricted tosouth-central Africa, whereas the Karoo-age
successions preserved to the north of the equator are distinctly different.
The Cape and Karoo basins formed within the continental interior of Gondwana. Subsidence resulted
from the vertical motion of rigid basement blocks and intervening crustal faults. Each basin episode a
three-stage evolution consisting of crustal uplift, fault-controlled subsidence, and long periods of
regional subsidence largely unaccompanied by faulting or erosional truncation. The large-scale
episodes of subsidence were probably the result of lithospheric deflection due to subduction-driven
mantle flow. (fig 2)
The Karoo basin is a cratonic cover that mimics the underlying basement blocks. The Permian Ecca
and lower Beaufort groups were deposited in a southward-deepening ramp syncline by extensional
decoupling on the intra-crustal decollement. Reflection seismic and deep-burial diagenetic studies
indicate that the Cape orogeny started in the Early Triassic. Deformation was partitioned into
basement-involved strike-slip faults and thin-skinned thrusting. Uplift of the Namaqua basement
resulted in erosion of the Beaufort cover.
East of the Cape fold belt, contemporaneous subsidence and tilting of the Natal basement created a
late Karoo transtensional foreland basin, the Stormberg depocentre. Early Jurassic tectonic resetting
and continental flood basalts terminated the Karoo basin.

2. Accumulation of Karoo aged successions in Africa corresponds to the Pangean first-order cycle of
supercontinent assembly and breakup.

The tectonic regime during Karoo time was defined by

compression and accretion along the southern margin
of Gondwana coeval with extension propagating into
the supercontinent from its Tethyan margin
(Wopfner, 1994, 2002). This unique combination of
tectonic stresses sourced from the convergent and
divergent margins of Gondwana resulted in the
formation of different basin types across Africa, with
accommodation generated by tectonic and dynamic
loads in the south, and riftingto the north. The
extensional field in central and northern Africa during
Karoo time is explained by the updoming caused by
the self-induced Pangean heat anomaly that followed
the onset of supercontinent assembly (Wopfner,
1990, 1994; Veevers and Powell, 1994). Tensional
regimes initiated during that time resulted in the
formation of the early Tethyan spreading centre, and
continued to govern the Karoo deposition until the
breakup of Gondwana in the Middle Jurassic. Starting
with the onset of the Late Carboniferous, tensional
stresses propagated gradually to the south from the
Tethyan margin,controlling the deposition of Karoo
sediments in grabens and subsequent rift structures.
The age of the extensional structures in southern
Africa is thus inferred to be younger than in central
and northern Africa (e.g., Bordy and Catuneanu,
2002c).

Fig 2. Model evolution of Cape and Karoo

basins

Discussion and conclusions

The formation of the Karoo-age basins of Africa took place during the Late PaleozoicEarly Mesozoic
interval,when the Pangea supercontinent reached its maximum extent.Tectonism was the primary
control on accommodation in the Karoo basins, with subsidence mechanisms (fig.3) ranging from
flexural in the south, in relation to processes of subduction and orogenesis along the palaeo-Pacific
margin,to extensional in the north, propagating southwards from the divergent Tethyan margin. The
interplay of these tectonic mechanisms, combined
with the influence exerted by the inherent structures
of the underlying Precambrian basement, resulted in
the formation of discrete depozones that follow
regional tectonic trends. Sedimentation patterns in
these Karoo basins were further influenced by a shift
in climatic regimes, from early cold conditions during
the Late Carboniferousearliest Permian interval, to
warmer and eventually hot climates with fluctuating
precipitation during the rest of Karoo time. The
climatic background provided a common thread for
the sedimentary fill of all Karoo basins, which resulted
in the development of similar depositional trends
across much of south-central Africa in spite of the
change in tectonic regimes.
The lacuna which followed the coalescence of
Pangea led to extensive denudation and
peneplanation of central and eastern African cratonic
regions. The first release of heat from the self-induced
Pangean heat anomaly (Veevers et al., 1994a,b)
caused updoming, followed by rifting in the eastern
African and Malagasy region. Rust (1975) and
subsequently Tewari and Veevers (1993) suggested
that the shape of Pangean basins (like the Karoo
basins) was largely determined by the structure of the
basement.
Syneclisic type Karoo basins formed by flexure and
thermal sagging over isotropic, mainly Archean
basement (e.g., Congo Craton), whereas linear, east
African type basins developed 246 O. Catuneanu et al.
/ Journal of African Earth Sciences 43 (2005) 211253
Fig 3. Geodynamic history of the Cape
by fracturing over anisotropic, mainly Proterozoic fold
and Karoo basins.
belts (Wopfner, 1993, 1994). Similarly, Radelli (1975)that
syn-depositional faulting within the MorondavaBasin followed old zones of weaknesses within the
underlying Mozambique Fold Belt. More recently, Visser and Praekelt (1996) suggested a similar

model for the breakup between East Africa and Madagascar/India.Whilst the concept of rift
directions being inherited from tectonic trends within the underlying basement holds true in a
general way, there are a number of cases where Karoo rifts cut right across older fold structures. One
of the best examples is the Ruhuhu Basin, the rift structures of which cut the fold fabric of the
Palaeoproterozoic Ubendian Metamorphic Complex almost at a right angle (Wopfner and Diekmann,
1996)
Although the dominant trend of the eastern African and Malagasy graben structures is northeast,
there are a number of shorter structures with northerly or even northwesterly trends. Some of them
may be simple accommodation faults, but the great thickness of sediments accumulated against
some of them suggests a pull-apart mechanism. It may be concluded therefore that
East
African/Malagasy rifts were not just simple tensional systems but that they were governed by a
transtensional stress field with a clear left-lateral component (Wopfner et al., 1993).North of Kenya,
at the point where later in the Jurassic the northwest trending, failed rift of the Anza Trough
developed (Reeves et al., 1986), the Karoo rift system deviated from the trend of the Mozambique
Belt altogether and presumably continued northeastward to southern Oman.Such a continuation is
indicated not only by various palaeobiological assemblages (see Wopfner et al., 1993;Wopfner, 1994,
1999, 2002 for references) but also by the relationship of the glacigene deposits of southern Oman to
the Huqh-Haushi uplift (Lee, 1990). Permian pillow lavas overlain by radiolarian cherts in the Oman
Mountains show that here the intracratonic rift of the Malagasy Trough merged with the
Neotethyan Ocean.In summary it can be stated that the formation of the Karoo rift basins of eastern
Africa resulted from left lateral transtension between India/Madagascar and Africa.
Although the onset of rifting was triggered by an anomalous heat accumulation under the insulating
blanket of the vast continental crust, transtension was the controlling mechanism for the
establishment of rift directions. The forces were created by the opening of Neotethys combined with
the right-lateral rotation between Gondwana and Laurasia (Veevers et al., 1994a). The release of
heat from the self-induced heat anomaly is considered the cause for the sagging and the formation
of the syneclise-type basins on the western side of African Gondwana.At the same time with the
manifestation of dominantly extensional or transtensional tectonic regimes across much of
Gondwana, the evolution of the southern part of the supercontinent was primarily linked to the
formation of the Pan-Gondwanian fold-thrust belt, which provided the supracrustal load for the
flexural subsidence recorded in the main Karoo Basin. Flexural loading, coupled with dynamic
subsidence related to the process of subduction beneath Gondwana, conferred the main Karoo Basin
of southern Africa unique characteristics that set it apart from all other Karoo-age basins of Africa.
This retroarc foreland basin preserves the reference stratigraphy for the Late Carboniferous Middle
Jurassic interval of Gondwana, which includes the regionally correlatable Dwyka, Ecca, Beaufortand
Stormberg lithostratigraphic units.

Distribution of the main lithostratigraphic units

Fig.4. Distribution of the main lithostratigraphic units of the Main Karoo Basin

Dwyka Group

The initiation of sedimentary processes of the Dwyka Group was estimated at about 300 Myr
(Moscovian) after a 30 Myr sedimantation break (Visean). The Dyka facies (tillites, cyclically grading
upwards into finer-grainde clastic rocks) indicates a glacial environment, with deposition from both
grounded and floating ice. The trend in which grounded and floating ice is separated is from north,
respectively south, althought alternate deposition from grounded and floating ice has been recorded
throughout the Karoo Basin. The foredeep accumulated about 800 m of silt-dominated marine
diamictites with dropstones (Fig. 5) derived from the floating ice. In the south part of the basin the
thickness of the fining-upward cycles varies from 60 to 100 metres featuring an uniform character
and lateral continuity of the layers, suggesting that deposition from floating ice was taking place
within a large marine basin, each cycle displaying a transition from terrestrial to subaqueous
moraines at the base, to glaciolacustrine shales at the top. A general feature of the foredeep
succession is the uniform character and lateral continuity of the diamictite layers, suggesting
deposition from suspension in a relatively low energy environment, a large marine basin. Processes
of resedimentation of the initial fallout deposits by debris flows have also been documented in this
glacio-marine environment.

Fig.5. Dropstone
Contrasting to the Dwyka succesion in the south, in the
north, the lateral correlation of the facies were very difficult
to comprehend due to the irregularity in thickness and
complex facies relationships of the succession. Despite this,
two finning-upwards cylces have been identified, each of
them comprising a basal massive till, a result of continental
glaciation, grading upwards into a stratified terminal zone
deposited from floating ice. Another interesting aspect is
that in the north part the top glacial-formed layers are
younger than the southern top of the Dwyka group,
meaning that the continental glaciation could have last
longer in the north due to a higher altitude than in the
south where the climate was warmer because of the
marine environment during the Early Permian deglaciation.
As the result of deglaciation of the northern zone of the
basin, the uppermost layer of Dwyka succesion is
compound by coal-bearing fluviodeltaic sequences.
In the north, the limit is represented by ravinement surface generated during the marine
transgression of the Ecca Sea. In the south, a precise boundary between Dwyka and Ecca Groups is
difficult to trace as the transition between glaciomarine and marine environments is gradual, the
percentage of dropstones gradually deacreases upwards in parallel with the disintegration of the
floating ice.
Ecca Group

The term Ecca was first used to descrise argillaceous sedimentary strata exposed in the Ecca pass, in
the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The Ecca group occurs between the Late Carboniferous
Dwyka Group and the Late Permian-Middle Triassic Beaufort Group, encompassing the Permian time
slot of the Karoo lithologies. Its maximum thickness is located in the southern part of the Karoo
basin, in the foredeep, being of aproximately 3000 m. Most age determinations are based of fossil
wood biostratigraphy and palynology. The absolute ages are generally in agreement with the 290 Ma
aged inferred from palynomorphs. The Ecca group is mainly composed of mixed clastic sediments
with some minor carbonates.
The Ecca Group is diachronous, meaning that the distal region is younger than the proximal region,
making the Volkrust Fm. correlative with the lowermost Adelaide Subgroup Koonap Formation (Fig.
6). With that being known, the age of the proximal region of the Ecca Group is from Artinskian to
Kazanian, and in the distal region, the Ecca Group begins in Kungurian and finishes somewhere in
Tatarian (Fig. 6). In the proximal region, the sedimentary processes was dominated by deep marine
conditions, forming Bouma sequences in Collingham Formation. The Collingham Formation is made
up of alternating siltstone and shale with yellowish layers of up. It is interpreted as a distal submarine

fan facies associated with pelagic sedimentation and wind-blown interbedded volcanic ash. The age
is Late Permian, probably Ufimian.

The Fort Brown Formation has

been formed in a shallow water,
coresponding with a regressive
marine environment in the Late
Permian. This formation is
represented by greenish-grey shale
with subordinate sandstone
becoming more prominent
upwards. It comprises two
coarsening-upward-sequences.
Both are several 100 m thick. Their
basal parts consist of dark pelites
and rhythmic alternating sand- and
mudstones layers of a prodelta.
They pass over into sandy distal
bar and distributary mouth bar
deposits of the deltafront. The age
of the Fort Brown Formation is
Late Permian.

Fig. 6. Lithostratigrahy of the Karoo

Supergroup, along the profile
shown on Fig. 4

In the northern part of the basin, the Pietermaritzburg Fm. consists mainly of shales accumulated in
a moderate to deep marine environment, of Kungurian age. The Vryheid Formation consist of
fluviodeltaic deposition, containing the only nonmarine sedimentary deposits of the Ecca Group.
Contrary to this, the correlation with the proximal Ecca Group is made with Whitehill Formation,
apparently the deepest marine environment from this period, being recorded at Kungurian age. The
Volkrust Fm. is accumulated in a deep to shallow marine environment, and is made up
predominantly of dark shales with intercalations of fine-grained sandstone. The age of this formation
is estimated as Umifian to Tatarian. The transgression of the Ecca Sea over the Vryheid Fm. formed
an uncomformable boundary between the fluviodeltaic facies and the marine transgressive facies of
Volkrust Fm.
The history of the Ecca formation is quite hard to understand due to the complexity of structures
and depositional enviromanets. After the Dwyka glaciation, the main facies types are meltwater raindeposits, glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine deposits, found in the norther Karoo, with deep-water

marine sedimentation in the foredeep. This is still in the underfilled settings of the basin, where the
foredeep accumulates pelagic to gravity flow sediments. Accomodation is obtained by dynamic
subsidence wich outpaces the rates of flexural uplift, leading to the lowering of the peripheral bulge
below the sea level and the manifestation of the basin-wide transgressions of the interior seaway. At
a higher frequency level, fluctuations in sediment supply and in the balance between the rates of
flexural tectonics and dynamic loading may result in forced regressions on the side of the basin that
is subject to flexural uplift, coeval with transgressions or normal regressions of the opposite shoreline
of the interior seaway.
The latter is the case with the age-equivalent Ripon and Vryheid formations in the Karoo
Basin, when submarine fans in the foredeep formed at the same time as the progradation of fluvial
deltaic sequences over the forebulge. The filled foreland stage is represented by the Fort Brown and
the Volkrust Formations, when the deep-water environment specific to the foreland is replaced by a
shallow-marine environment. Also the forebulge is lowered below sea leve wich means that the
dynamic subsidence is outpacing the rates of flexural uplift, which in turn implies base level rise
across the entire foreland and sedimentation rates that are within the range of variaton of the rates
of base level rise.
The boundary between Ecca Group and Adelaide Subgroup is comformable, both in proximal and
distal regions.
Beaufort Group
The term Beaufort Beds was first introduced to describe
sedimentary rocks of the lower part of the Karoo series at
Beaufort West in South Africa, but has been expanded to
include a wider range of fluviatile deposited Permo-Triasic
rocks in the main Karoo. The absolute age of the Beaufort
Group is not preciselly placed but the wealth of fossils
tetrapods has allowed biostratigraphic subdvisions into eight
biozones which have allowed the correlation with other
better dated fossil bearing successions in the world.

These rocks cover about 200000 square kilometers,

making up about 20% of the local surface area of South
Africa, with a maximum thickness of 7000 m in the
foredeep, thinning rapidly northwards. Beaufort Group
strata consist predominantly of mudstones and siltstones
with subordinate lenticular and tabular
Fig.7. Beaufort shale
sandstones deposited by a variety of fluvial systems (Fig. 7).The boundary with the underlying Ecca
Group is transitional and diachronous, recording a gradual change from deltaic to fluvial depositional
systems. The climates had become semi-arid with seasonal rainfall. The presence of desert rosegypsum, dessication cracks, palustrine carbonate beds and pedogenic carbonate horizons is a direct

indicator of a semi-arid region. Lower Beaufort sediments came from different margins of the Karoo
basin, giving rise to pebbly sandstones in the north and fine-grained sandstones elsewhere. The
Beaufort Groups is divided into two major subgrops : the Adelaide and Tarkastad Subgroups.

Adelaide Subgroup

By the time the Adelaide Subgroup had formed the nonmarine conditions of sedimentation were
established in all Karoo Basin. The proximal facies of the Adelaide Subgroup includes the Koonap,
Middleton and Balfour Formations being the correspondent for Tatarian age and the distal facies is
represented by Normandien Fm. Upper Tatarian Lower Scythian (Fig. 6). The base of the Adelaide
Subgroup is conformable with the lower Ecca Group in both distal and proximal facies, due to the
transition marine-nonmarine environment; however the subgroup in its lower part is diachronous.
The Koonap Formation has been formed in high-energy systems (braided river) grading upwards
innto lower energy meandering systems. It is made up of greenish silty mudstones and sandstones.
The Middleton Fm. composed by a finning-upward succesion made up of marron and greenish-grey
mudstones interbedded with sandstones and is deposited in low-energy meandering and lacustrine
systems. The Contact between the Middleton and the overlying Balfour Fm. is unconformable due to
the changes in the facies and sedimentation energy rate, from low-energy meandering facies to highenergy braided facies. Similar to the lower sequence of Koonap and Middleton Formations, the
Balfour Fm. presents changes in the depositional environment fom braided rivers grading upwards
into meadnering systems. It also represents a finnin-up sequence, bounded by subaerial
unconformities both at the top and at the base. They are composed of yellowish and bluish-greenishgrey sandstones interbedded with dark mudstones, and their age is Tatarian to early Scythian. The
presence of calc-alkaline volcaniclastic detritus and cherts of tuffaceous origin (Ho-Tun, 1979)
suggests that the provenance rocks in the southwest may have included an active andesitic volcanic
chain located on the eastern side of the Andean Cordillera in South America and West Antarctica.
The Normandien Formation is also the result of a fluviatile system, but showing evidence of wide
semiarid floodplains, being made up of interbedded sandstones and mudstones deposited by
meandring streams with channels flanked by this semiarid floodplains. It correlates with the upper
part of the Balfour Fm., and therefore the age is tartarian-Early Scythian.

Tarkastad Subgroup

The Tarkastad proximal facies is composed of the Katberg and Burgersdorp formations. The distal
facies is made up of the Driekoppen and Verkykerskop formations. It's age is Scythian to early
Anisian.
The Katberg is made up of thick, laterally extensive, light olive grey, coarse-grained sandstones,
composed of transverse and longitudinal bar macroforms, which are internally structured
predominantly by horizontal and trough cross-stratification. It unconformably overlays the Balfour

Formation. It was deposited in a shallow braided environment with pulsatory discharge. Abandoned
channel fills are also present and are represented by thin sequences of red-olive yellow mudstones.
The Burgersdrorp Formation conformably overlies the Katberg Formation and consists
predominantly of thick fining-upward units of laterally inextensive, olive grey, fine to medium
grained sandstones overlain by red-maroon coloured siltstones and mudstones. These fining-upward
sequences are thought to represent mixed-load meandering river and floodplain deposits and
preserve a fauna assignable to the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. The source area is composed
predominantly of granitic, metamorphic and alkaline volcanic rocks.
The Verkykerskop Fomation consists predominantly of thin, laterally extensive, medium to fine
grained sandstones dominated by transverse bar macroforms wich are internally structured by
planar cross-bedding. It is the northern equivalent of the Katberg formation. The Driekoppen
formation is composed of thin fine-grained channel sandstones, internally structured by horizontal
stratification, overlain by thick, massive to diffusely laminated siltstones and mudstones. They are
believed to represent suspended-load-dominated meandering river deposits.
The Tarkastad Subgroup may be regarded as a single finning-upward sequence : sandstone
dominated braidplain deposits at the base, grade upwards into mudstone-dominated floodplain
deposits associated with meandering river systems.
The Beaufort Group marks the begging of the overfilled basin stage of the Karoo basin. Overfilled
foreland systems are dominated by non-marine environments, and reflect stages in the evolution of
the basin when sediment supply outpaces the available accommodation. The accommodation in this
case is only achieved through tectonic processes.

Stormberg Group

A major stratigraphic gap, corresponding to the late Anisian-Ladinian interval separates these strata
from underlying Tarkastad. In contrast to the other groups, there are no proximal or distal facies.
Nevertheless, the entire group may be considered a distal facies for the Stormberg Group did not
extend to the Cape Fold Belt. Furthermore, studies show that Dwyka, Ecca and Beaufort rocks are the
sediment sources for the Stormberg Group, reworking this older Karoo sequences. The base-Molteno
angular unconformity, well developed in many basins, indicates a significant tectonic event across
the region to usher in Stormberg sedimentation.
The sequence discussed here is constituted by tree different formations: Molteno, Elliot and
Clarens, from Middle Triassic to Middle Jurassic. (Fig. 6)
The Molteno Fm. is composed by two coarsening upward sequences that formed deposits
interpreted as the fills of abandoned channel tracks and within ponded bodies of water on the
braidplain. The formation is composed predominantly of tabular sheets of medium to coarse grained
sandstone internally structured by horizontally and cross-stratified macroforms. Siltstone, mudstone
and coal deposits also occur but are far less abundant. The Bamboesberg Member is dominated by
olive grey fine to medium grained sandstones, internally structured

equally by horizontal and trough cross-stratification. The overlying Indwe Sandstone Member is also
dominated by sandstone, internally structured predominantly by trough cross-stratification. Other
distinctive features of the two members include the presence of dm-scale clasts
of Witteberg quartzites within the sandstones (especially in the uppermost Bamboesberg and Indwe
Sandstone members), and the large (mm-to cm-scale) crystals of feldspar within the Indwe sandstones (Turner, 1975; Christie, 1981). The Transitional Member also coarsens upwards with the
contact between the Molteno and overlying Elliot Formation marked by
the top of the uppermost coarse sandstone. This contact also marks a sharp palaeontological break
in that it coincides with the first occurrence of fossils assignable to the lowermost biozone of the
Elliot Formation, the Euskelosaurus Assemblage Zone.
The Elliot Formation (NorianEarly Jurassic, Fig. 8) is dominated by floodplain mudstones with
subordinate channel and crevasse splay sandstones, probably representing a meandering system. In
addition to the fluvial sediments, an aeolian loessic dust component is apearing on the upper part of
the formation, increasing in the top, showing a transition not only in sedimentation processes, but
also in the climate change, a more arid tipe of climate. The occurrence of aeolian sandstones starts as
m-scale thick intercalations in the upper part of the Elliot Formation, before the definitive
establishment of the aeolian environment, showing cyclical changes in climate or aeolian sediment
input in the transition interval between the Elliot and Clarens environments.

Fig.8. Elliot and Clarens Formations

In the Clarens Fm. (Early to Middle Jurassic, Fig.6) consists of cream or yellow fine grained
sandstones, sandy siltstones and mudstones with subordinate coarse-grained sandstones. The
climate discussed previously intensified in the first period, and then a moderate tipe of climate with a
more abundent rainfall takes place. Considering the stratigraphic conformity and the gradual
character of the transition between the fluvial-dominated (Elliot) and the aeolian-dominated
(Clarens) environments, the Elliot and Clarens formations may be taken together as one coarseningupward sequence. The upper contact with the lavas suggests synchronous desert sedimentation and
early volcanism, particularly in the Huab and main Karoo basin.

Drakensberg

The Karoo Igneous Province consists of several remnant floodbasalt accumulations, sills and vast
dyke swarms . From the geochemical stratigraphy it appears that the tholeiitic lavas once
formed an extensive carapace centred on the 1800 m thick Lesotho remnant. 40Ar/39Ar dates on the
flood basalts and intrusives record a 185180 Ma duration of magmatism. Continental flood basalts
are commonly associated with continental breakup, such as the extensional basins that developed
along the margin of the Namaqua plate. Synrift sediments of Kimmeridgian age have been drilled in
the Outeniqua basin and Middle Jurassic age in the conjugate North Falkland basin. Magmatism and
the start of extension were more or less contemporaneous.

Interpretation

A crucial issue in the analysis of

the Karoo Basin is the
identification of the flexural
foredeep and forebulge
characteristics, as well as the
migration trends through time.
The stages of orogenic loading
and unloading represent an
important influence on the
migration of the hinge line
between phases of
sedimentation, controlling also
the subsidence and the uplift of
the foreland system flexural
profile (Fig.9)

Fig.9 Idealized structure and process of the evolution of the

foreland system which is influenced by cycles of orogenic
loading and unloading

Flexural processes combined with

sedimentation determine the
position of the basin depocentre
in the proximal region during
orogenic loading, and in the distal
region during orogenic unloading.
The out of phase base-level
changes between the proximal
and the distal regions result in
contrasting stratigraphies (Fig.6),
which may explain the
stratigraphic hinge lines in
Dwyka, Ecca and Beaufort

Fig.10 Variation of the stratigraphic hinge line through time

Groups (Fig.10). The hinge line

shifted towards the craton
during the Late CarboniferousPermian interval, and back
towards the orogen during the
Triassic-Middle Jurassic. As
contrasting stratigraphies
develop in response to ut of
phase base-level changes
between the proximal and the
distal regions of the foreland
system, the pattern of hinge
line migration reflects a
correspondig migration of the
flexural foredeep and
forebulge.

The data of the studies of the

Karoo Basin suggest that the
cratonward migration of the
foreland system (Late
Carboniferous-Permian)
occured during a time of
orogenic loading in the Cape
Fold Belt. Although the first
order orogenic loading lasted
until the end of the Middle
Triassic, which was continued
with a low-rate shift in the
same direction during the Late
Triassic-Middle Jurassic stage
of first order orogenic
unloading. The figures.... offer
a precise and detailed image
of the variation of the changes
that have been occured in
sedimentation, relanshionship
between proximal and distal
regions depending on the
flexural characteristics and
paleoclimatic trend of a
specific region. The
progradation of the foreland
system is attributed to the
Fig.11 Schematic model for the evolution of the Karoo
sedimentary basin

progradation of the orogenic fron during stages of orogenic loading. For the Late CarboniferousPermian interval, when the progradation of the Karoo foreland system took place, evidence for the
gradual advance of the CFB against the basin is supplied by the Dwyka, Ecca and lower Beaufort
strata that are incorporated within the orogenic structures in the proximity of the orogenic front. The
geology of the CFB indicates that no further progradation of the orogenic front occured after the end
of the Permian, although the first-order orogenic loading continued until the end of the Middle
Triassic. The subsequent low-rate retrogradation of the foreland system during the Late TriassicMiddle Jurassic stage of first-order orogenic unloading is attributed to the erosion of the orogenic
front leading to a slow retrogradation of the centre of weight in the orogenic belt. Such stages of
low-rate retrogradation of the foreland system due to the erosion of the Fig. Schematic model for the
evolution of the Karoo sedimentary basin orogenic front probably took place during all quiescence
stages of the CFB first order cycle.
The depocentre of the Karoo basin is alternately the foredeep, during orogenic loading, and the
foresag during which the retrogradation of the orogenic load due to the erosion of the orogenic front
may cauze an orogenward migration of the foresag. The depocentre of the Karoo basin is alterately
the foredeep during orogenic loading, and the foresag, during orogenic unloading. In Fig.11 , time
step (1) suggest the coeval deposition of marine and nonmarine Dwyka facies, as well as the debut of
the Ecca Sea (lower Prince Albert Formation) restricted to the southern part of the basin, which
explains the diachroneity of
the Dwyka-Ecca contact.
The Ecca-Beaufort contact
is also diachronous, which
is explained by the
persistence of the Ecca Sea
within the foresag area
coeval with the debut of
fluvial aggradation in the
more proximal region
during time-step (5).The
basin is underfilledduring
time-steps (1)-(4), with
deep marine
sedimentation, it reaches a
filled phase during time
step (5), with shallow
marine=nonmarine
sedimentation and evolves
into an overfilled phase
during time-step (6), with
fully nonmarine
sedimentation across the
entire basin.
Fig.11 Schematic model for the evolution of the Karoo sedimentary basin (continuation)

In the period Triassic-Middle Jurrasic the orogenward migration of the peripheral bulge/sag may
either be attributed to the retrogradation of the orogenic load due to the erosion of the orogenic
front during times of quiescence. The basin is overfilled with fully nonmarine sedimentation during
the stages presented at Fig. . As a function of the relative position between the equilibrium drainage
profile and the flexural profile, areas of sedimentation, bypass or erosion are separated within the
basin.

Paleontology

Fossil Potential:
* Dwyka Formation: a glacial deposit (tillite) containing no fossils.
* Ecca Group: in this southern part of the basin, some fossil wood and fragmentary plant material is
found. In addition, rare fish fossils have also been found (Jubb and Gardiner, 1975), as well as trace
fossils in the form of burrows, feeding track and fish-fin drag marks at the interface of bedding
planes.
* Beaufort Group: these predominantly terrestrial sediments have, throughout South Africa, yielded
a large number of vertebrate fossils in the form of amphibians, early primitive reptiles (the
captorhinids), mammal-like reptiles (therapsids), and fish. Minor freshwater invertebrates (molluscs)
and plant fossils have also been recovered. For the most part, however, the fossils found in the
Beaufort sediments are rare, particularly in the lowermost part of the succession, just above the
Ecca- Beaufort contact.
The Beaufort Group is subdivided into eight biozones (Fig.12) (Rubidge, 1995) on the basis.

Fig. 12 Beaufort Group

-The Eodicynodon Assemblage Zone:

Eodicynodon (Fig. 13 ) was a therapsid reptile of the Capitanian stage (266-260 million years ago) of
the Permian Period. It measured about 30 cm. (11.8 inches) long. The length of the skull was 9 cm.
(3.5 inches).

Fig. 13 Eodicynodon reconstruction

-The Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone:

Tapinocephalus (Fig.14) is a genus of large herbivorous dinocephalian that lived during the Middle
Permian Period 250 million years ago. These stocky, barrel-bodied animals were characterised by a
massive bony skull roof and short weak snout. It is thought that, like the rest of the members of its
family, the animals engaged in head-butting intraspecific behavior, possibly for territory or mates.
The fossil remains (skull and postcranial elements) of Tapinocephalus are known from the Lower,
Middle, and Upper part of the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone ( Capitanian age) of the Lower
Beaufort Beds of the South African Karoo. Only the type species, T. atherstonei is now considered
valid for this genus.
In life, these animals were over 3 meters (10 ft) in length and weighed around 1.5 to 2 metric tonnes
(1.6 to 2 short tons), making them among the largest animals of their time.They died off in the
Triassic-Jurassic extinction about 200 million years ago, which opened the door to dinosaur
domination of the earth.

Fig. 14 Tapinocephalus reconstruction

-The Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone :

Pristerognathus (Fig.15) a genus of Therocephalian mammal-like reptile, whose fossils have been
found in that structure. These animals were roughly cat-sized, and are characterized by long, narrow
skulls with large canines. They are likely to have preyed on smaller therapsids and millerettids of the
time.

Fig. 15 Pristerognathus reconstruction

-The Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone is a geological stratum and a faunal zone of the Beaufort
Group, of the South African Karoo. The name refers to Tropidostoma, a genus of dicynodont
mammal-like reptile, whose fossils have been found in that structure.

The Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone The name refers to Cistecephalus, a genus of small burrowing,
mole-like reptile, whose fossils have been found in that structure.
Cistecephalus (Fig. 16) was a small, specialised, burrowing dicynodont, possibly with habits similar to
a modern mole. The head was flattened and wedge-shaped, the body short, and the forelimbs very
strong, with similarities in structure to the forelimb of modern burrowing mammals.Cistecephalus is
so far known from the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone of the South African Karoo, as well as from
Zambia and India. Cistecephalus was about 33 centimetres (13 in) in length.

Fig. 16a A trace of Cistecephalus

Fig. 16b Cistecephalus reconstruction

The Dicynodon Assemblage Zone :

The name refers to Dicynodon (Fig. 17), a genus of mammal-like reptile, that flourished in the
Permian Period and whose fossils have been found in that structure. Is a type of herbivorous
mammal-like reptile that flourished during the Permian Period. This animal was toothless, except for
prominent tusks, hence the name. It probably cropped vegetation with a horny beak, much like a
tortoise, while the tusks may have been used for digging up roots and tubers.
Dicynodon was a medium sized and advanced member of the Dicynodont group. It had an average
length of 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), although size differed among species. Its fossil remains have been found
in sediments of latest Permian age in South Africa, Tanzania, Russia, and China.

Fig. 7 Dicynodon reconstruction

The Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone The name refers to Lystrosaurus, a genus of mammal-like reptile,
a dominant life form of the Early Triassic Period, whose fossils have been found in that structure.
Lystrosaurus ( Fig. 18) was a genus of Late Permian and Early Triassic Period dicynodont therapsids,
which lived around 250 million years ago in what is now Antarctica, India, and South Africa. Four to
six species are currently recognized.Being a dicynodont, Lystrosaurus had only two teeth, a pair of
tusk-like canines, and is thought to have had a horny beak that was used for biting off pieces of
vegetation. Lystrosaurus was a heavily-built, herbivorous animal, approximately the size of a pig. The
structure of its shoulders and hip joints suggest that Lystrosaurus moved with a semi-sprawling gait.
The forelimbs were even more robust than the hindlimbs, and the animal is thought to have been a
powerful digger that nested in burrows.
Lystrosaurus was by far the most common terrestrial vertebrate of the Early Triassic, accounting for
as many as 95% of the total individuals in some fossil beds. It has often been suggested that it had
anatomical features that enabled it to adapt better than most animals to the atmospheric conditions
that were created by the PermianTriassic extinction event and which persisted through the Early
Triassiclow concentrations of oxygen and high concentrations of carbon dioxide. However recent
research suggests that these features were no more pronounced in Lystrosaurus than in genera that
perished in the extinction or genera that survived but were much less abundant than Lystrosaurus.

Fig. 18 Lystrosaurus

The Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. The name refers to Cynognathus, a genus of eucynodontian
mammal-like reptile, whose fossils have been found in that structure.
Cynognathus (Fig. 19) was a heavily built animal, and measured around 1 metre (3.3 ft) in body
length. It had a particularly large head, 30 centimetres (1.0 ft) in length, with wide jaws and sharp
teeth. Like hind limbs were placed directly beneath the body, as in mammals, but the fore-limbs
sprawled outwards in a reptilian fashion.
The dentary was equipped with differentiated teeth that show this animal could effectively process
its food before swallowing. The presence of a secondary palate in the mouth indicates that
Cynognathus would have been able to breathe and swallow simultaneously.
The lack of ribs in the stomach region suggests the presence of an efficient diaphragm: an important
muscle for mammalian breathing. Pits and canals on the bone of the snout indicate concentrations of
nerves and blood vessels. In mammals, such structures allow hairs (whiskers) to be used as sensory
organs.
Fig. 19 Cynognathus

Fun Fact

The PermianTriassic (PTr) extinction event, informally known as the Great Dying, was an
extinction event that occurred 251.4 million years ago, forming the boundary between the Permian
and Triassic geologic periods. It was the Earth's most severe extinction event, with up to 96% of all
marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct It is the only known mass
extinction of insects.
Distinct assemblages of paleosols above and below the PermianTriassic boundary in the Karoo
Basin of South Africa are evidence for reorganization of ecosystems following this greatest of all mass
extinctions. The PermianTriassic boundary is recognized from the last appearance of Dicynodon and
from a series of negative excursions in the isotopic composition of carbon within therapsid tusks,
pedogenic carbonate nodules, and organic matter.

Causes of the end-Permian mass extinction

The changes in fluvial style in the Karoo Basin at the end of the Permian were initially thought to
be triggered by a pulse of thrusting in the southerly source area, which brought about rapid
progradation of a large sandy braided fan system (the Katberg Fm.) into the central parts of the basin
.Ward suggested an alternative that better fits the observed palaeoclimatic changes. They proposed
that the switch in fluvial regime was a consequence of the extinction event rather than the cause.
The global aridification and con comitant de-vegetation of the continental interiors caused unstable
channel banks and increased run-off that is reflected by the onset of gullying of the floodplains and
the switch from high to low sinuosity channel pattern.
Stable isotopic analyses of pedogenic nodules and teeth taken from embedded fossils through
the extinction interval at the Bethulie section revealed an anomalous negative excursion within the
boundary laminites.This anomaly is interpreted as having been caused by a relatively rapid release of
methane or CO2
into the atmosphere over a period of some 150 kyr. The greenhouse effect from these emissions,
whether they originated from the Siberian volcanism or oceanic overturn , could have caused the
observed global aridification of continental interiors .
Recovery fauna
Only four genera (31%) survived the extinction: the dicynodont Lystrosaurus and the
therocephalian genera Tetracynodon,Moschorhinus and Ictidosuchoides. However, none of the
therocephalian genera survived into the succeeding Early Triassic Katberg Formation, because they
died out in the upper Palingkloof some 160 kyr after the main extinction event during what could be
interpreted as a second pulse of extinctions amongst the survivor fauna.Out of the ten taxa
recovered from Earliest Triassic

strata, directly above the PTB, seven taxa originate within 30 m of the boundary. The first new taxon
to appear almost immediately above the boundary is the archosauriform Proterosuchus .
This taxon is closely followed by the amphibian Micropholis and the procolophonoid
Owenettakitchingorum (soon to be placed in a new genus, the dicynodonts Lystrosaurus murrayi
and L.declivis, and the cynodonts Thrinaxodon liorhinus and Galesaurus. The amphibian, Lydekkerina
., the procolophonoid)
Procolophon and the therocephalian Scaloposaurus appear stratigraphically higher in the Katberg
Formation, with Lydekkerina appearing firstat approximately 37 m above the boundary.
Procolophonwas previously regarded as originating just abovethe PTB , but our collecting has
repeatedly shown this taxon makes its first appearance approximately 60m above the PTB,
thereafter it then occurs in abundance.

Conclusions

Due to the flexural behaviour of the foredeep and forebulge of the basin, controlled by the orogenic
loading and unloading processes. As a result, the depocentre of the foreland system alternated
between the depositional foresag, during orogenic unloading, and the depositional foredeep, during
orogenic loading, so the orogenic tectonism played a crucial role in creating the stratigraphic
arhitecture. The first-order CFB orogenic cycle icludes a Late Carboniferous-Middle Triassic orogenic
loading stage followed by a Late Triassic-Middle Jurassic unloading stage. The Karoo foreland system
migrated towards the craton during the Late Carboniferous-Permian, and back towards the orogen
during the Triassic-Middle Jurassic. The cratonward migration of the foreland system is controlled by
the progradation of the orogenic front during orogenic loading. The retrogradation of the centre of
weight in the orogenic belt is probably attributed to the erosion the orogenic front.

Bibliography
The Karoo basins of south-central Africa - O. Catuneanu a,*, H. Wopfner b, P.G. Eriksson c, B.
Cairncross d, B.S. Rubidge e, R.M.H. Smith f, P.J. Hancox e
Tectonic evolution of the Cape and Karoo basins of South Africa - Anthony Tankard a,*, Herman
Welsink b, Peter Aukes c, Robert Newton d, Edgar Stettler e
The recovery of terrestrial vertebrate diversity in the South African Karoo Basin after the endPermian extinction - Roger Smith *, Jennifer Botha
Fluvial style variations in the Late TriassicEarly Jurassic Elliot formation, main Karoo Basin, South
Africa - Emese M. Bordy *, P. John Hancox, Bruce S. Rubidge
Reciprocal flexural behavior and contrasting stratigraphies: a new basin development model for the
Karoo retroarc foreland system, South Africa O. Catuneanu, P. J. Hancox, B. S. Rubidget
Evolution of the Karoo basin - ??
Wikipedia.org
Different geology sites for small questions.