Elliot Fm
Type Locality and Naming
Main Karoo Basin (SE), Main Karoo Basin (Eastern/Northern Forebulge) South Africa, extending into the northern basins including Springbok Flats, Ellisras, Tshipise, and Tuli (Figure 5 in article). Originally, this unit was informally designated the "Red Beds" by early pioneer geologists (such as E.J. Dunn in the 1870s) due to its striking, vividly colored argillaceous rocks that vividly contrast with the underlying Molteno and overlying Cave Sandstone (Clarens). In 1980, the South African Committee for Stratigraphy (SACS) formally abandoned the descriptive term "Red Beds Formation" to adhere to modern stratigraphic naming conventions. It was officially renamed the Elliot Formation, after the town of Elliot in the Eastern Cape Province, where it is extensively and beautifully exposed. Middle formation in Stormberg Gr
Synonym: Red Beds Formation (obsolete)
Lithology and Thickness
Fluvial sandstones and mudstones (Figure 2; Figure 5).
Relationships and Distribution
Lower contact
Overlies the coarse sandstones and conglomerates of the Molteno Fm (Figure 2; Figure 5).
Upper contact
Conformably overlain by the massive aeolian deposits of the Clarens Fm (Figure 2; Figure 5).
Regional extent
Main Karoo Basin
GeoJSON
Fossils
Age
Depositional setting
Additional Information