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Itombwe Super Gr

Itombwe Super Gr

Period: 
Tonian, Cryogenian

Age Interval: 
Tonian to Cryogenian


Province: 
Eastern Congo Margin

Type Locality and Naming

Itombwe Basin, DRC. Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks exposed on the eastern CS, are recognized in the Itombwe and Malagarazi-Bukoban basins in the DRC and Burundi-Tanzania successively. The Itombwe Supergroup is lithostratigraphically divided into (Cahen et al., 1979): the Lower Kadubu Gr and the Upper Kadubu Gr. The Lower Kadubu Group rests unconformably on a metamorphic and crystalline Burundian-Ruzizian basement, subdivided into three formations, i.e., Kigogo Fm, Kalama Fm and Mudubwe Fm. The Upper Kadubu Group has two formations, i.e., Nya-Kasiba Fm and Tsibangu Fm (glacial till).

Synonym:

Reference: Cahen et al., 1979; Tack 1995; Walemba and Masters 2005; Walemba 2001; Fernandez-Alonso et al., 2012; de Wit et al., 2015

[Fig 1. Lithostratigraphic synthesis for the Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic period. Compiled after various authors (see text).Dotted lines between Banalia, Alolo and Galamboge formations: stratigraphic transition by recurrences.]

[Fig 2. Lithostratigraphic columns for the Congo Basin established using data from the 4 wells in the central part of the basin and outcrops on its NE margin (Lindi-Ubangi and Kisangani-Kindu region), compared with the West-Congo and Katanga stratigraphy.]

[Fig. 3.Simplified geological map of Sub-Saharan Africa showing the Neoproterozoic basins on and around the Congo Shield (modified after De Waele et al. 2008). (LC) Lower Congo Basin, (Co) Comba Basin, (Sa) Sangha Basin, (Ny) Nyanga-Niari Basin, (An) Angola Basin, (SO) Semb-Ouesso Basin, (Ba) Ubangui Basin, (LiB) Likki-Bembe´ Basin, (Bk) Bakouma Basin, (Fou) Fouroumbala Basin, (Li) Lindi Basin, It Itombwe Basin, (Ma)Malagarazi-Bukoban Basin, (Mb) Sankuru-Mbuji-Mayi-Lomami-Lovoy Basin, (Lu) Luamba Group, (Kat) Katanga Basin, (RB) Ruwenzorian Belt, KaB) Karagwe-Ankole Belt, (RuB) Ruzisian Belt, (KiB) Kibaran Belt,(UB) Ubendian Belt, IB Irumide Belt]

[Fig. 4. Stratigraphic correlation between the Neoproterozoic sedimentary basins in Central Africa. Correlations based on Sr isotopic data, radiometric age constraints and revised lithological relationships (de Wit et al., 2015).]


Lithology and Thickness

The Itombwe Supergroup was affected by metamorphism from greenschist facies to weakly wrinkled metamorphosed (Walemba 2001), while the Malagarazi-Bukoban Supergroup are unmetamorphosed (Tack 1995). The Lower Kaduba consists of approximately 3,700 m-thick siliciclastic rocks The Upper Kaduba comprises approximately 8,000 m-thick siliciclastic rocks including at the top >800 m-thick diamictitic sequences of the Tsibangu Fm diamictite (Walemba and Masters 2005).


Lithology Pattern: 
Sandstone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Upper contact

Regional extent

The Itombwe basin is recognized in the DRC Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks exposed on the eastern CS


GeoJSON

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Fossils


Age 

Poorly known: The age of the Itombwe Supergroup is estimated between 1310 +/- 40 and 648 +/- 12 Ma and between 1020 +/- 50 and 575 +/- 83 Ma (De Wit et al., 2015). Fernandez-Alonso et al. (2012) proposed a maximum age of approximately 750 Ma for the base of the Itombwe Supergroup (de Wit et al., 2015).

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Tonian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.45

    Beginning date (Ma): 
874.00

    Ending stage: 
Cryogenian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
0.7

    Ending date (Ma):  
660.50

Depositional setting


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information

Deformation in the Itombwe and Malagarazi-Bukoban basins may be kinematically linked with strike-slip reactivation of the Kibaran and Karangwe-Ankole belts and/or Ubendian Belt during Pan- African orogen (de Wit et al., 2015).


Compiler:  

Enam O. Obiosio, Solomon Joshua Avong and Henry Nasir Suleiman (2024) - Stratigraphic Lexicon compiled from the following books:

Geology and Resource Potential of the Congo Basin by Maarten J. de Wit, François Guillocheau and Michiel C.J. de Wit, Published Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015; DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-29482-2