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Angwa Sandstone Formation

Angwa Sandstone Fm

Period: 
Triassic

Age Interval: 
Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian)


Province: 
Zimbabwe-Mozambique

Type Locality and Naming

Cabora Bassa Basin and Mana Pools Basin (Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique). Named after the Angwa River in the Lower Zambezi Valley of northern Zimbabwe. It was formally introduced as a new stratigraphic term by P.M. Oesterlen in 1990 to replace older, informal designations such as the 'Alternations Unit'. Lowermost formation in Stormberg Gr in Cabora-Bassa Basin.

Synonym:


Lithology and Thickness

A massive, extraordinarily thick sequence dominated by fluvial sediments, reaching estimated total thicknesses between 1,800 and 4,000 meters.


Lithology Pattern: 
Fine-grained sandstone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Unconformably overlies the fine-grained argillaceous sediments of the Lower Karoo Gr (such as the Mkanga Fm).

Upper contact

Conformably overlain by the coarse-grained Pebbly Arkose Fm.

Regional extent

Widespread across the Mana Pools and western Cabora Bassa basins in northern Zimbabwe, extending into neighboring Mozambique and Zambia. Basal unit of the Upper Karoo Group in the Cabora Bassa Basin. It chronostratigraphically correlates with the Escarpment grit Fm, Ripple marked Flagstone Fm, and Fine Red Marly Sst Fm sequence in the adjacent Mid-Zambezi Basin, and broadly corresponds to the Molteno Fm of the Main Karoo Basin in South Africa.


GeoJSON

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Fossils


Age 

Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian)

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Carnian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
237.00

    Ending stage: 
Norian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
0.6

    Ending date (Ma):  
214.36

Depositional setting

High-energy continental fluvial environments.


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

From the O. Catuneanu et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 43 (2005) 211–253; Oesterlen, P.M. (1990): The geology of the Dande West area (western Cabora Bassa Basin) - a preliminary report; Oesterlen, P.M., & Millsteed, B.D. (1994): Lithostratigraphy, palaeontology, and sedimentary environments of the western Cabora Bassa Basin, lower Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe.