2014 - Geo Route

The CGS Field School class of 2014 will embark on a trip across all 9 provinces of South Africa, aiming to cover most of the major geological units within South Africa. The group will depart on Day 1 from Pretoria (Gauteng) on 10 Nov (07h00) driving across most of the Proterozoic Transvaal Supergroup en route to the Archean Barberton Greenstone Belt (Mpumalanga). During this day the group will encounter some of the oldest rocks on Earth and hopefully find some of the earliest forms of life. The day will end viewing some of the Archean gneisses and an overnight stay in Ermelo.

Day 2 will see the group travel from Ermelo, through the northern part of Kwa-Zulu Natal, to the Gariep Dam, near the source of the Orange River. At the Gariep Dam the group will be on a triple junction border, namely, the borders of the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State. It's worth noting that here the group will see the source of the Orange River, and later in the trip, they will uncover the final confluence of the river, near Alexander Bay. On this day, the group will see the top of the Karoo Supergroup, most notably, the Drakensberg, and some of the spectacular cliffs in the Golden Gate National Park.

Day 3 will find the group moving down the Karoo stratigraphy, ending in the underlying Cape Fold Belt (Western Cape). During this day the group will aim to see some of the world renowned fossils and trace fossils found in the upper parts of the Karoo, i.e. the Beaufort. And, later consider the contentious black shale in the lower Ecca Group and its hidden potential energy source. Finally, considering the snow-ball Earth theory, while looking at the lowest Dwyka.

The final day, Day 4 will see the group travelling through the Cape Fold Belt, encountering most if the Table Mountain Group and Cape Granites. Here the group can consider Gondwana a bit more and how mountain building occurred in this region. The trip will finally end in Cape Town, before the next stage of the Field School begins.

CGS Field School 2014: Geology of South Africa route (highlighting some of the geological stops), click to enlarge