Africa Geological Atlas

Permo-Triassic Tectonic Maps of Africa

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Kungurian 275+-5Ma

The Sicani (SI) Basin of Sicily (SI) and the Djeffara (DJ) Basin of Tunisia/Libya contain deep water facies, which has led to interpretations that Neotethys was propagating this far west (e.g. Stampfli et al, 2001). We however agree with arguments presented by Scotese and Schettino (2017) against a Neotethys propagation through the eastern Mediterranean at this time, e.g. lack of rifting, flood basalts or ophiolites. Seismic interpretations on the Djeffara Basin (Bruna et al, 2023) suggests an isolated elongate depocenter which could be an isolated narrow transtensional feature.  The Sicani Basin, unlike the Djeffara, does not later pass into shallow marine strata. Biota indicate a deepwater environment and a link to sediments in Crete, Kurdistan and Oman (Catalano et al, 1991). Thus our preference is for a connection to Neotethys running further north than the current Eastern Mediterranean. 


The model adopted here for the Cape Fold Belt (CFB)  is that of Linol and de Wit (2021), who suggest that there was double subduction below Patagonia, including consumption of the Agulhas Ocean (AO)  separating Africa and Patagonia The pre-drift position of the Falkland Islands is based on Kimmeridgian facies and tectonic correlations.

Southern and East African lineaments are after Macgregor (2018).. The first phase of ‘Karoo’ rifting is initiated in the Stephanian and reaches peak activity at this time (Catuneanu et al, 2005).  Narrow transform-related passive rifts are developed along the ‘Southern Trans Africa Shear’ from the Morondava Basin (MO) to the Aranos Basin (AB) of Namibia (Orpen et al, 1989, Miller, 2008). Another set of dip slip rifts, typified by the Rukwa (RU) rift, runs perpendicular to the main trend through Zambia and Tanzania. An intersect of the STASS with the Cape Fold Belt is likely (Visser & Praekelt, 1995) in the current offshore.

Induan 251+-5Ma

In North Africa the Djeffara (DJ) Rift is still subsiding (Gabtni et al, 2009) while another seemingly isolated set of rifts are forming in the Maragh (MA)  Basin and Hameimat (HA) Basins (Gras and Thusu, 1996 ). The Palymrides (PA) Basin of Syria (Brew et al, 2001) rifts as a precursor to opening of part of the Eastern Mediterranean. Such activity could extend offshore into the Levantine Basin (LE, Gardosh et al, 2006). The first rift that precedes Central Atlantic breakup occurs within the Argana (AR) Valley of Morocco (Frizon et al, 2008). Local rifting also occurs in the Sabratah Basin offshore Libya as part of a gradual step northwards of rift activity in this area (Reeh, 2015). 

A northwards expansion of the Permo-Triassic rifts of eastern Africa occurs around this time. (Macgregor (2018). The main rift event in the Ogaden (OG) Basin is, for instance, of Early Triassic (Induan) age, during which a thick deep lacustrine shale was deposited (Worku & Astin, 1992) , time equivalents of which are seen in the Mombasa Basin (MB) and the Morondava Basin (MO). The correlation of Triassic rifts between Tanzania and Madagascar is an important element in defining the original fit between Africa and Madagascar (Reeves, 2016). Madagascan rifts again show more marine influence at this time than do the African ones, due likely to a marine inlet likely pulsating southwards from Tethys, perhaps through the Somalian offshore rifts mapped by Davidson et al (2018) 

The last of the collisions that assemble Pangea occurs as the main phase of the Cape Orogeny  (Linol and de Wit, 2016) . Distal compression is seen as far away as the Cuvette Centrale (CC:  Giresse, 2005).  The Great Karoo (GK) Basin moves into a filled stage, characterized by non-marine sediments (Catuneanu et al, 2005).  

Carnian 230+-5Ma

Neotethys may now be propagating into at least the northeastern part of the Mediterranean. This is evidenced by the outcropping of Late Triassic oceanic basalts in Cyprus (Lapierre et al 2006) and in Turkey (Robertson and Parlak, 2013). Israel (e.g. Judea Graben)  is still in a syn-rift phase however (Gardosh et al, 2006).

There is a large expansion of rifting in the Atlas (AT) rifts (Le Roy & Pique, 2001: Manspeizer, 1988) , in the Newark (NE) rifts and their NW African conjugates, as well as in offshore Sicily (Catalano et al, 2013).  More gentle sag-like extension occurs in the Triassic Basin (TB) of Algeria , while rifting has also tentatively been interpreted on seismic in the Gulf of Sirt (GOS) and northern Cyrenaica areas (Gillard, 2017, PESGB Africa Conference presentation) . Rifting may thus be occurring over a wide belt from the Levantine Basin (LB) of Israel to Senegal at this time and many authors thus consider this the peak rifting period of North Africa  (Jagger et al, 2018).

Many of the rifts in southern Africa now seem to be in a phase of passive fill by fluvial redbeds (Macgregor (2018). Following a stratigraphic hiatus in the Ladinian which could mark the final movements on the Cape Fold Belt (CFB), the Great Karoo (GK) Basin appears to enter an overfilled phase (Catuneanu et al, 2005)

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