Golden Gate Highlands National Park - Geology and Palaeontology

Geology and Palaeontology

The geology of the park provides very visual "textbook" examples of Southern Africa's geological history. The sandstone formations in the park form the upper part of the Karoo Supergroup. These formations were deposited during a period of aeolian deposition towards the end of the Triassic Period. At the time of deposition the climate of the area the park covers was becoming progressively drier until arid desert conditions set in, resulting in a land of dunes and sandy desert, with occasional scattered oases. The deposition of the sandstones ended when lava flowed out over the desert 190 million years ago.

The following sequence of geological formations are visible in the park (starting from the bottom): the Molteno Formation, Elliott Formation, Clarens Formation, and the Drakensberg Formation. The yellow-brown Golden Gate and Brandwag cliffs are made up of the Clarens formation. The layers in this formation are 140 to 160 metres (460 to 520 ft) thick. The Drakensberg formation comprises the basaltic lava that flowed over the desert. It forms the mountain summits in the park. On Ribbokkop it is 600 meters (2000 ft) thick. The Elliot Formation is a red mudstone where many dinosaur fossils have been found.

The oldest dinosaur embryos ever discovered were found in the park in 1978. The eggs were from the Triassic Period (220 to 195 million years ago) and had fossilised foetal skeletons of Massospondylus, a prosauropod dinosaur. More examples of these eggs have since been found in the park. Other fossils found in the park include those of advanced cynodontia (canine toothed animals), small thecodontia (animals with teeth set firmly in the jaw), bird-like and crocodile-like dinosaurs.