Lower Sabie’s Sandstone
Do not get out of your vehicle at this EarthCache!!
Getting out of your vehicle in the Park is unlawful except where it is clearly indicated.
South Africa boasts some of the most impressive sandstone landscapes and landforms in the world, and although these are widely distributed across South Africa, some of the most spectacular examples are associated with the Molteno , Elliot and Clarens Formations in the central region of South Africa. The prominence of sandstone in this region is primarily owing to palaeo-basin infilling during the late Carboniferous and a climate dominated by seasonal precipitation patterns, both now and in the past. Consequently, a range of weathering and erosion processes have operated at wide-ranging spatial scales upon the sandstone outcrops.
Almost the entire eastern half of the Kruger National Park as well as a large area in the western central parts of the Park is underlain by rocks of the Karoo Supergroup and which is overlain by sedimentary rocks from the Clarens formation. Exposure of the Clarens formation is very poor in most areas of the park and is the best seen at the Red Rocks site.
The exposure here however is also good and can be seen from the road where it dip below the basaltic lavas.
Sandstone of the Clarens Formation shown here in green.
Formation: This rocks was formed when the area was a desert 190-196 million years ago. Sand dunes built up over time and the sand
particles were squeezed together to form a weak rock. It forms a thin sedimentary wedge between the basement Granitoid rocks and the overlaying Lebombo volcanics, consisting of Sabie River Basalts in this instance.
To log your find you have to answer the following questions and email them to me (do not post the answers in your log):
1. The sandstones dip in which direction?
2. What is the approximate height of the sediments from the river bed?
3. Give a short description what the differences are between sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
4. Uploading photos to the cache page and awarding the EC with a Favourite Point, are the best ways to say thank you to the cache developer and to encourage others to visit the location but is only optional.
You can sent me your answers in either Afrikaans or English.
Source:
https://www.koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/download/187/171
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarens_Formation
