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Mkwasine Grits and Mudtones Formation

Mkwasine Grits and Mudtones Fm

Period: 
Permian

Age Interval: 
Early Permian (Artinskian)


Province: 
Zimbabwe-Mozambique

Type Locality and Naming

Named for the Mkwasine geographic area/river in southeastern Zimbabwe. It is a formally recognized lithostratigraphic unit within the Karoo Supergroup sequence of the Save Basin. Middle formation in Ecca Gr in Save Basin

Synonym: Mkwasine Formation


Lithology and Thickness

A mixed clastic succession characterized by pebbly sandstones (grits), medium-to-fine sandstones, and intercalated mudstones.


Lithology Pattern: 
Claystone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Conformably overlies the Lundi Coal Measures Fm

Upper contact

Conformably overlain by the highly carbonaceous Marare Coaly Shale Fm

Regional extent

Ecca Gr equivalent. In regional stratigraphic charts, it is placed in the same chronological interval (Kungurian) as the Malilongwe Shale, representing the upper portion of the coal-bearing Ecca-equivalent strata in this basin.


GeoJSON

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Fossils


Age 

Early Permian (Artinskian)

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Artinskian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
290.51

    Ending stage: 
Artinskian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
283.30

Depositional setting

Fluvial, floodplain, and paludal (swamp) environments within an intracratonic rift basin.


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

From the O. Catuneanu et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 43 (2005) 211–253; Barber, B. (1987): The Save-Runde coal area, Save-Limpopo basin. Records of Zimbabwe Coalfields.