Vagabonds tramping through Geology Africa The Country of South Africa Session 6 The Orange and Vaal Rivers Focus on the Destruction of Gondwana Egypt and South Africa: why so different? Geology in the News

More on the Bakkan Oil Shale from the Wall Street Journal, Feb Bakkan oil more difficult of extract than gas from the Barnett Shale Bakkan estimated reserves 4.5 rather than 20 + billion barrels Bakkan economics requires $50.00/bbl rather then $16.00/bbl Now to the huge oil discovery in the deep Atlantic of Brazil

commentary: “Obama under writes offshore oil drilling in Brazil” signed an executive order to loan $2 billion of our taxpayers dollars The oil that comes from this operation is for the sole purpose and use of China and NOT THE USA! We have absolutely no gain from this transaction whatsoever! the largest individual stockholder of this Brazilian Oil Company and who would benefit most from this? It is American BILLIONAIRE, George Soros, who was one of President Obama's most generous financial supporter during his campaign. Massive deep-water oil find in Brazil challenges technology

view=article&id=78:us-promotes-offshore-drilling-in- brazil&catid=35:uncategorized&Itemid=54 Pundits recently criticized the Obama administration for a $2 billion deal with Petrobras, the oil giant owned by the Brazilian government. The money will help finance oil exploration... off the coast of Brazil. You think the real truth about the deal couldn't be stranger than the truth we see on the face of it? Think again. The deal is part of a financing package arranged by the Export-Import Bank of the United States It is financing provided to purchase equipment and services from American companies that will help Brazil find oil off their coast The deal is part of a financing package arranged by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, an arm of the federal government. it's not a gift as has been erroneously reported and repeated. It is financing provided to purchase equipment and services from American companies that will help Brazil find oil off their coast Back to southern Africa and the country of South Africa

Today, three questions: 1.Did the red, iron color of the sand dunes of Namibia come from the Orange River drainage system? 2. Why did South Africa fail to develop an early civilization like its mirror image, Egypt? South Africa is in the Temperate climate zone It has a significant river drainage all in the Temperate Zone It is about the same distance as Egypt from the Cradle of the advent of humans It has copper and tin which Egypt does not have It has iron and coal while Egypt has only iron 3.Can South Africa become a world “power” since it seems to have all the required natural resources?

Egypt and South Africa Nile River Orange River Two Lands Two Rivers Two Oceans Tropics What’s different between the Nile and the Orange rivers?

What’s different between the Nile and the Orange rivers? Low land with flood plain High land with no flood plain

Gateway to the whole world! End of the world! A melting pot of peoples Isolated hill country people

Natural Resources Flood plain Iron Copper & Tin Iron & Coal Many other metals Are the resources of South Africa sufficient to build a major player on the world stage?

Critical Natural Resources Southern Africa The Central Rift Fault Area Study Area #1 Central Rift Fault Area; Study Area 1 Summary 1. Pre-Cambrian: grazing 2. Centered in Tanzania 3. Cu and Sn ores 4. headwaters of Nile, Congo, and Zambezi rivers 5. no major flood plains Conclusions: Area unfavorable for early major civilizations No obvious modern expectations Next: Study Area # 2 Focus: South Africa

The Highlands of Southern Africa South Africa Tropics Study Area #2 The regional geological location of the country of South Africa

Topography of Southern Africa Zaire Basin Study Area #2 South Africa The Regional Setting of the Country of South Africa A basin much older than others in study area #2 Karoo Basin The Karoo Basin: the drainage area of the Orange and Vaal rivers

Rivers of Africa Niger River Nile River Congo River Zambezi River Limpopo River Orange-Vaal rivers Drainage Area: Orange & Vaal Rivers

Pre-Cambrian Younger Rocks Drainage Area: Orange & Vaal Rivers Tanzania Botswana Karoo Basin

C u b a n g o R i v e r Zambezi River Limpopo River Orange River The Rivers of Area #2 Next: South Africa: Its Rivers, Geology, & Resources Vaal River Karoo Basin

Rivers of South Africa River drainage areas are outlined in white Limpopo River Karoo Basin Do any of these rivers provide favorable areas for farming? Orange River drainage area Let’s look at the geology of the rocks of the Karoo Basin & see what type of soils are being produced by weathering

Geologic Map of South Africa Geologic Map close-up

Pre-Cambrian Permian Triassic Mz Igneous South Africa: Geologic Map & Two Major Rivers Vaal River Orange River Devonian Sil-Ord Pre-Cambrian Folded Mountains

Pre-Cambrian Time 3.4 Billion years Geologic Time Diagram “ P o s t ” - C a m b r i a n Rocks In the Folded mountains Rocks In the Karoo Basin Time of the break-up of Pangea

Sandstone Shale Geologic Rock Types in the Karoo Basin Now the subdivisions of the rocks comprising the Karoo Basin Pre-Cambrian Volcanic lavas

Now a North – South Cross Section across the Karoo Basin River Debris Lavas River Source Names of Karoo Basin Rocks

Jurassic lavas 200 mm years old 15,000 feet Karoo Basin Debris from a major river In Permian & Triassic time Deformation here and lava flows here document continental break-up in Triassic and Jurassic time Another view of the deformation of the south side of the Karoo Basin

D LCole - Inversion Tectonics of the Cape Fold Belt, Karoo and …, books.google.com Inversion Tectonics of the Cape Fold Belt, Stormberg GroupStormberg Group (including basalts) Beaufort Gp = terrestrial Ecca Gp = Dwyka Gp = glacial marine Cape Super Gp = late Ord to Carb Karoo Basin Basin rocks are folded and crushed on south side When and how was this deformation done?

Karoo Basin Topography Karoo Basin Orange River Karoo Basin: 250 mm year old sedimentary rocks remnants of old geosyncline river fill from ancestral Limpopo River? old geosyncline crushed & folded Orange-Vaal rivers formed basin uplifted by “rift” action? Orange river entrenched

Karoo Basin The Continental Drift History of the Karoo Basin

The continental drift history of the Karoo Basin A closer look

The continental drift history of the Karoo Basin: 306 MYC Africa Shallow water ocean Next: 50 million years later South America Southern Africa about to collide with southern South America

The continental drift history of the Karoo Basin Africa now all land area And 25 million years later Africa now part of super continent Pangea

The Continental Drift History of the Karoo Basin Africa Remember the Karoo Basin? After A closer look

Karoo Basin Early Triassic Time: 237 mm years ago Africa A closer look

Africa The Continental Drift History of the Karoo Basin: 237 MYC Karoo Basin And 40 million years later

Drakensberg lavas After The Continental Drift History of the Karoo Basin A closer look

Drakensberg lavas After The Continental drift history of the Karoo Basin: 195 MYC Africa beginning to break apart from South America and Antarctica Karoo Basin deformed 40 million years later

The continental drift history of the Karoo Basin The African break apart from South America and Antarctica continues and Africa rotates toward the equator where is lies today 60 million years later

The Continental Drift History of the Karoo Basin The breakup and the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean And 45 million years later

The Continental Rift History of the Karoo Basin Central Africa on the equator And 35 million years later

The Continental Drift History of the Karoo Basin Central Africa on the equator Uplift of Rift Area and Namibia Last, the recent ice age

The continental drift history of the Karoo Basin The beginning of written human history Back to the Karoo Basin, the Orange River, and the country of South Africa

Orange River Vaal River The Natural Resources of South Africa Focus on the river resources

Temperate Zone Grazing Wheat Corn

Orange River Vaal River South Africa: Orange/Vaal River Flood Plain Farming Flood Plain Farming area Flood Plain Farming up close

Vaal River Vaal River: Flood Plain Farming

Mouth of the Orange River

Flood Plain at Mouth of Orange River No farming

Farming East of Cape Town

Temperate Zone Grazing Wheat Corn

Junction of the Vaal and Orange Rivers Source of the iron in the sand dunes of Namibia?