Regional Geomorphic Evidence for Climatic Change in Southern Africa Since the Mesozoic
Abstract
Regional geomorphic evidence for climatic change in Southern Africa since the Mesozoic is reviewed. Since it was initiated at the breakup of Gondwanaland the Great Escarpment has had a marked effect on regional and local climates. The African erosion cycle initiated at the breakup carries laterites and silcretes on a characteristically deeply weathered kaolinized profile indicative of warm moist and semi-arid conditions respectively. Two periods of Tertiary uplift and tilting of the margins of the subcontinent, the first in the early Miocene and the second and greater episode in the late Pliocene, have had marked geomorphic and climatic effects. In the Quaternary, fluctuating climatic conditions are reflected in a variety of geomorphic effects.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
Geological and Geochemical Analysis
Geological formations and processes
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Palaeoecology of Africa, volume 18
- Publisher
- CRC Press
- Pages
- 337–348
- Publication date
- 3 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter