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Regional distribution and thickness of post-Palaeozoic sediments on the continental margin of southern Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

R. V. Dingle
R. V. Dingle
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scotland
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Summary

The asymmetry of the continental margin around southern Africa can be related to Mesozoic sediment thicknesses, which were in turn controlled by the local structural setting. On the west coast, the Orange Basin sediments were built out as a thick wedge over the margin of the continent by discharge from the Orange River, whereas on the Agulhas Bank, sedimentation was confined to continental areas. Off the east coast the extremely narrow margin of the continent did not form an effective trap for sediments, which were readily carried beyond it. Cainozoic sediments are thin, and modify the Mesozoic sediment pile only locally on the outer shelf and slope.

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 110 , Issue 2 , March 1973 , pp. 97 - 102
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1973

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