ABSTRACT
E FFEcrlvE UNDERSTANDING of Pleistocene stratigraphy in terms of palaeo-climatic units is dependent upon systematic interpretation of geomorphic features. Most existing literature however has emphasized cycles and denudation chronologies while the corresponding sediments are frequently ignored. The core of the problem of "pluvial" paleoclimates, viz. whether an increase of precipitation or a decrease in evaporation is involved, can only be reached by sedimentological investigation. Sedimentology cannot provide absolute answers and indeed small variations in rainfall intensity, amount, or variability within a single climatic province may render absolute or numerical generalizations inadequate. The size, slope, and relative elevation of a catchment area may also determine the details of sedimentation by fluviatile processes. Nevertheless, wherever tectonic factors can be discounted it is the sediment rather than the erosional form that is more elucidating-providing of course that the former is preserved.
