De Ville Wickens
Field Trips Chair
Stellenbosch University
Phone: +27 21 906 2354
hdevw@sun.ac.za
PRE-CONFERENCE
Field Trip 2 sold out
Fluvial Architecture of the Late Permian Beaufort Group Deposits, S.W. Karoo Basin: Point Bars, Crevasse Splays, Paleosols, Vertebrate Fossils and Uranium
Permian-Triassic strata of the lower Beaufort Group exposed in Theekloof Pass south of Fraserburg. Fluvial meander-belt sandstone units are separated by thick floodplain shales. Cross-cutting Jurassic dolerite intrusions are visible. Photo courtesy of Doug Cole.
- Date:
- Tuesday, 21 October, 09:00 – Saturday, 25 October, 18:00
(departs from and returns to Cape Town International Convention Centre) - Leaders:
- Roger Smith (South African Museum, Cape Town, South Africa) and
Doug Cole (Council for Geoscience, Bellville, South Africa) - Fee Sold Out
- Includes:
- Transportation, lodging, guidebook and all meals
- Limit:
- Maximum 18; Minimum 12
- Note:
- Short to medium non-strenuous walks are expected.
This excursion will examine the spectacular outcrops of the Permian–Triassic Beaufort Group in the southwestern part of the Karoo Basin. Ancient point bars, levees, paleosurfaces with reptilian trackways and fossils of mammal-like reptiles (therapsids) will be seen. The Beaufort Group contains sandstone-hosted uranium deposits similar to the Colorado Plateau, except that molybdenum and not vanadium is the co-product. Several deposits will be visited where fluvial sandstone-body architecture will be demonstrated and secondary mineralization will be seen.
A vertical vein of pseudocoal, resembling anthracite and classified as impsonite, is another highlight on the trip, which will focus on the carbonaceous Whitehill Shale Formation as a possible source for hydrocarbons. This shale, renowned for containing fossils of Mesosaurus, is the stratigraphic equivalent of the Irati Formation of Brazil.
Please note that the Geological and Social Day Trips may be of interest to guests.
Important Notes Regarding Field Trips and Geological and Social Day Trips
- Field trips are limited in size and are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis and must be accompanied by full payment.
- If you register for a field triponly, a $30 fee will be charged in addition to the field trip fee. This fee may be applied toward registration if you decide to attend the conference.
- A wait list is automatically created if a field trip sells out. The AAPG Convention Department will notify you if space becomes available. Undersubscribed field trips will be cancelled.
- Before purchasing non-refundable airline tickets, confirm that the trip will take place.
- It is important that you note your gender on your registration form for hotel room assignments.
- Several weeks prior to the trip, you will receive an itinerary with details of meeting points, transportation within the trip, phone and fax numbers and email addresses of hotels and trip leaders, etc. Please indicate your fax and email on your registration.
- Proper clothing and supplies are needed for the outdoors (hat, wind breaker, sturdy footware, sunscreen and rucksack).
- If any field trips are likely to meet your needs or the needs of your staff, you are encouraged to register early.
- To help us better anticipate the number of attendees and avoid premature cancellation of field trips, please register well before 12 August.
- Neither AAPG, GSSA nor trip leaders maintain insurance covering illness or injury for individuals.