Ntane Fm
Type Locality and Naming
Kalahari Basin (Central), Kalahari Basin (NE). Named after the Ntane area in Botswana, mapped formally from both scattered surface outcrops and extensive groundwater/mineral exploration boreholes. Upper formation in Stormberg Gr in Kalahari Basin (Central)
Synonym:
Lithology and Thickness
Dominated by massive, well-sorted, fine- to medium-grained quartzitic sandstones displaying large-scale aeolian cross-bedding. The rocks are typically pinkish, buff, or red. Thickness varies but generally reaches up to 100 meters.
Relationships and Distribution
Lower contact
Conformably to paraconformably overlies the reddish fluvial and playa mudstones and siltstones of the Mosolotsane Fm.
Upper contact
Where preserved, it is sharply overlain (and often baked) by the massive Early Jurassic continental flood basalts of the Karoo Large Igneous Province (locally referred to as the Stormberg Lavas, Kasane Basalts, or Batoka Basalts). Stormberg Lava Gr in Kalahari Basin (Central).
Regional extent
Widespread across the central, eastern, and northern sub-basins of the Kalahari Basin in Botswana. It forms one of the most important and laterally extensive geological units in the country. Upper Stormberg Gr equivalent. It is the direct regional equivalent to the Clarens Fm in the Main Karoo Basin (South Africa), the Nkalatlou Fm in southwestern Botswana, the Bodibeng Sandstone in northern Botswana, and the Etjo Fm in Namibia
GeoJSON
Fossils
Age
Depositional setting
A massive inland aeolian erg (desert sand sea).
Additional Information