The Cenozoic history of the southern cape coastal landscape

The Cenozoic deposits of the southern Cape have received only sporadic attention and much that has been written relies on work undertaken early this century. Apart from recent interest in Quaternary deposits, including palaeosols, only the silcretes and marine erosion features have enjoyed specific investigation. Five major aspects are reviewed here: macro-geomorphological features (planation levels and plateaux), sea-level changes, fluvial deposits upon the coastal platform; silcretes, coastal deposits such as the Knysna lignites and aeolian coversands. There is at present little consensus on the Cenozoic history of this area, and thus there is potential for significant further geomorphological and palaeo-environmental investigations.