Kalahari Craton

Approximate location of Mesoproterozoic (older than 1.3 Ga) cratons in South America and Africa.

The Kalahari Craton is a craton, an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere, that occupies large portions of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. It consists of two cratons separated by the Limpopo Belt: the larger Kaapvaal Craton to the south and the smaller Zimbabwe Craton to the north. The Namaqua Belt is the southern margin of the Kaapvaal Craton.[1]

Parts of the Kalahari Craton are now in East Antarctica (the Grunehogna Craton) and West Antarctica (Haag Nunataks) and the Falkland Islands.[2] The name was introduced by Clifford 1970.[3]

  1. ^ Zeh, Gerdes & Barton Jr 2009, Kalahari Craton, pp. 934–935
  2. ^ Jacobs et al. 2008, Abstract
  3. ^ Jacobs et al. 2008, Introduction, pp. 2–3