History of south africa book geological

As part of the continent gondwana 650 million years ago, the foundation of florida was tucked between the land masses that would become south america and africa. Geology and evolution of the natal belt, south africa article pdf available in journal of african earth sciences 461. About 48,670 metric tonnes t of gold were produced from conglomerate beds reefs in the witwatersrand basin between 1886 and 2000 conradie, 2000. He specializes in wars of empire and is the author of the indian mutiny shortlisted for the westminster medal for military literature. Bureau for scientific publications, council for scientific publications south africa, south africa. Nhbs carl anhaeusser, morris j viljoen, richard p viljoen, hannes henckel, penguin random house south africa. The sajg was first published by the gssa in 1895 as the transactions of the geological society of south africa, and then as the sajg in 1987 vol.

List of books and articles about south african history. The rest of eastern north america was then part of another continent called laurentia. Jelsma encyclopedia of life support systems eolss 2. This volume surveys the often volatile histories of each country in the region and. Johannesburg, city, gauteng province, south africa, that is the countrys chief industrial and financial metropolis. Volcanic rock volume, as is typical for the shallowsourced mantle plume derived rocks. World continent general considerations for africa geological history. Council for geoscience south africa contentssummary. It has a long history of conflict and human rights issues, but it has always been one of the most economically prosperous nations in southern africa due to its coastal location and the presence of gold, diamonds, and natural resources.

Contains 33 chapters embracing both the continental as well as offshore geology of south africa. A century of geological endeavour in southern africa, 1895. The danger from space and south africa s megaimpact, the vredefort structure, by uwe reimold and roger gibson, is a popular account of the geological wonderland that marks the site of the largest and oldest known meteorite impact on earth. This is the history of south africa, from the late 1500s until about 2000, and the bulk of the book is the 20th century. These cratons limited by the young crease bands formed between 2 billion and 300 million years ago. Paterson, proceedings of the geologists association, vol.

Publications gssa geological society of south africa. South africa, afrikaans suidafrika, officially republic of south africa, republic 2015 est. It describes a little about the native south africans before settlers arrived, then goes through the story of the dutch taking over, then the british, how apartheid began, what it meant for the various ethnic groups, and. The african continent essentially consists of five ancient precambrian cratonskaapvaal, zimbabwe, tanzania, congo, and west africanthat were formed between about 3. Stories, people, and events that shaped the history of africa raymond c. The authors observations of various geological characteristics of the countryside from port elizabeth to the diamond fields. The ages of these events, relative to the time scale, have been indicated, and it can be seen that there are no major gaps present, with all the eras in the precambrian and. For those who wonder about the jaunty tilt of a mountain ahead, the unusual patterns of a road cutting, the colour and texture of the roadside soil, or the purpose of a distant minehead, this volume offers answers and explanations about features along all the major routes. The african continent comprises five ancient precambrian cratons, kaapvaal, zimbabwe, tanzania, congo, and west africa. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading geological journeys. Being the transactions of the geological society of south africa, volume 100.

It is divided in half almost equally by the equator. Carved in stone showcases the geological data compiled across north america, south america, and africa, with more discoveries to come as dr. A list of the main geological and palaeontological events in south africa s geological history has been combined with the legend. Geology dating of the oldest rocks in south africa has provided an age of about 3. Published for the south african chamber of mines by the geological society of south africa, johannesburg, 1969. On a visit to the diamond fields of south africa, with notices of geological phenomena by the wayside, j. The first phase comprised a precambrian period 4,600 to 541 million years ago. As the earths tectonic plates shifted, the basement rocks of our modern continents moved across the globe.

Here in the southern tip of the african continent you can get an overview of 3. Carved in stone examines the sedimentary rock record continent by continent, layer by layer. Recent developments concerning the geological history and. A travellers guide to south africas rocks and landforms. There are a large number of references available on the hydrogeology of south africa.

Geological society of south africa, foundation for education, science, and technology south africa. Geological society of south africa, 1997 ocolc741519175. At stake were rights to a wealth of natural resources and, as time went by, independence. Century of geological endeavour in southern africa, 18951995. Without doubt, the late archean witwatersrand basin in south africa fig. World continent general considerations for south america geological history. We can group the geological history of south america into three distinct stages of development. Image courtesy of the geological society of south africa. Many of these describe aspects of geology and geomorphology that inform hydrogeological conditions in south africa. Already in its second edition, the book describes the spectacular geology of the dome and explains the. Groundwater resources were originally studied by the hydrogeologists of the geological survey, latterly the council for geosciences.

It borders on the atlantic ocean in the west, on namibia in the northwest, on botswana and zimbabwe in the north, on mozambique and swaziland in the northeast, and on the indian ocean in the east and south. South african national parks are thanked for allowing me access to. Saul davids favourite books on south african history. Clashes between european settlers and indigenous peoples throughout this section of the continent were common. Geological journeys a travellers guide to south africas rocks and landforms is an essential companion for car journeys. Pdf geology and evolution of the natal belt, south africa. The history of southern africa is marked by both the convergence and divergence of diverse cultures. In the ahaggar in the center of the sahara a swell ca. Geological society of south africa council for geoscience south africa. The following maps and documents may be freely downloaded and used by the public. Each of them conforms to an important division of geological time.

The authors observations of various geological characteristics of the countryside from. Abstracts only from 1998 to 1999, citations only from 1984 to 1997. This figure is close to 40 percent of all the gold mined during the recorded history of mankind sanders et. The geology and engineering geology of roads in south africa. The geological society of south africa gssa is a notforprofit scientific and professional society for earth scientists first established in 1895. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The many geological formations in south africa provide a perfect opportunity for geology safaris geological tours. A travellers guide to south africas rocks and landforms kindle edition by norman, nick. South africa is the southernmost country on the african continent.

One of the youngest of the worlds major cities, johannesburg was founded in 1886, following the discovery of gold. African history from ancient egypt to modern south africa. Pages in category geology of south africa the following 25 pages are in this category, out of 25 total. Our objective is to promote and advance the earth sciences, including the study of the earth sciences, the associated public interests in the earth sciences, the earth sciences professions and the. This book describes in detail the history, geological occurrence and mining of diamonds in south africa. The staff at the geological survey departments of angola, namibia, zambia, zimbabwe and botswana are also thanked for their cooperation in providing data for the compilation of the isopach and geological maps. Supplemental data for all articles is available here. Arranged in ascending order from the oldest formations in the barberton granitegreenstone terrane to. Africa, the secondlargest continent, is bounded by the mediterranean sea, the red sea, the indian ocean, and the atlantic ocean. Bibliography includes bibliographical references and index. Africas physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately. The official facebook page for the geological society of south africa gssa a nonprofit, public benefit association for geologists.