ABSTRACT
Karoo Basin in South Africa, which is the best studied. The oldest Karoo rocks, the Dwyka Formation, preserve evidence of the widespread Gondwana glaciation in the form of glacial sediments (diamictites) on top of beautiful striated pavements on older rocks (160, 161). Following the ice age, the Ecca Group records sedimentation in a shallow, landlocked sea. Erosion of the Cape Fold Belt to the south poured delta sands and turbidites into the Karoo Basin while, to the north, extensive deltas on more gentle slopes supported extensive forests. The Ecca Group is thus rich in coal deposits. The overlying Beaufort Group sediments mark a period of extensive flood plains in warmer and drier climates, with sedimentary input from all directions. We shall make a special study of fossil-rich horizons in the Lower Beaufort near Fraserburg, in the Teekloof Formation. The Permo-Triassic boundary occurs within the Beaufort Group, and is marked by a rapid change from fairly humid to rather arid conditions. We shall study this momentous event in Earth history in the Lootsberg Pass area, by looking in detail at the Balfour Formation.
