Drakensberg Group

Drakensberg Group
Stratigraphic range: Lower Jurassic
~182–180 Ma
TypeGeologic group
Sub-unitsBarkly East Formation, Lesotho Formation
OverliesStormberg Group
Thicknessup to 22,965.88 feet (7,000 m)
Lithology
PrimaryBasalt
Location
RegionEastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, and Lesotho
Country South Africa  Lesotho
Type section
Named forDrakensberg mountains

A simplified geological map of the outcrops of Karoo Supergroup rocks in Southern Africa. The Drakensberg Group is represented by the blue key on the map.

The Drakensberg Group is a geological group named after the Drakensberg mountain range where in its uppermost sections the rocks are found. The Drakensberg Group lies over most of Lesotho and localities in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Free State provinces of South Africa. It forms part of the greater Karoo Igneous Province, which occurs over an extensive area of southern Africa.[1]

Steep, fluted Drakensberg basalt (not dolerite) with typical uniform, vertical crack-lines, deposited on cave sandstone of the Clarens formation along the western limit of Platberg, Harrismith, Free State
  1. ^ Erlank, A.J. ed., 1984. Petrogenesis of the Volcanic Rocks of the Karoo Province: National Geodynamics Programme Sponsored by the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Geological Society of South Africa.