Book contents
- Only in Africa
- Only in Africa
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Part I The Physical Cradle: Land Forms, Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Soils
- Chapter 1 High Africa: Eroding Surfaces
- Chapter 2 Climate: Rainfall Seasonality
- Chapter 3 Water in Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands
- Chapter 4 Bedrock Geology: Volcanic Influences
- Chapter 5 Soils: Foundations of Fertility
- Part I Synthesis: Structure of the Physical Cradle
- Part II The Savanna Garden: Grassy Vegetation and Plant Dynamics
- Part III The Big Mammal Menagerie: Herbivores, Carnivores and Their Ecosystem Impacts
- Part IV Evolutionary Transitions: From Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans
- Appendix Scientific Names of Extant Animal and Plant Species Mentioned in the Book Chapters (Ecologically Conservative with Regard to Species Recognition)
- Index
- References
Chapter 1 - High Africa: Eroding Surfaces
from Part I - The Physical Cradle: Land Forms, Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Soils
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 September 2021
Book contents
- Only in Africa
- Only in Africa
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Part I The Physical Cradle: Land Forms, Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Soils
- Chapter 1 High Africa: Eroding Surfaces
- Chapter 2 Climate: Rainfall Seasonality
- Chapter 3 Water in Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands
- Chapter 4 Bedrock Geology: Volcanic Influences
- Chapter 5 Soils: Foundations of Fertility
- Part I Synthesis: Structure of the Physical Cradle
- Part II The Savanna Garden: Grassy Vegetation and Plant Dynamics
- Part III The Big Mammal Menagerie: Herbivores, Carnivores and Their Ecosystem Impacts
- Part IV Evolutionary Transitions: From Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans
- Appendix Scientific Names of Extant Animal and Plant Species Mentioned in the Book Chapters (Ecologically Conservative with Regard to Species Recognition)
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter establishes how mantle plumes elevated the interior of eastern and southern Africa and generated predominantly eroding land surfaces. Depositional basins were restricted mainly to the Congo, Kalahari, interior South Africa and offshore. It outlines the origins of the African rift valley and its propagation southward. This sets the tectonic context for climates, river flow, geological substrates, volcanism and soil fertility.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Only in AfricaThe Ecology of Human Evolution, pp. 5 - 13Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
Suggested Further Reading
Burke, K; Gunnell, Y. (2008) The African erosion surface: a continental-scale synthesis of geomorphology, tectonics, and environmental change over the past 180 million years. Geological Society of America Memoirs 201:1–66.Google Scholar
Macgregor, D. (2015) History of the development of the East African Rift System: a series of interpreted maps through time. Journal of African Earth Sciences 101:232–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
References
Partridge, TC. (2010) Tectonics and geomorphology of Africa during the Phanerozoic. In Werdelin, L; Sanders, WJ (eds) Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 3–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burke, K; Gunnell, Y. (2008) The African erosion surface: a continental-scale synthesis of geomorphology, tectonics, and environmental change over the past 180 million years. Geological Society of America Memoirs 201:1–66.Google Scholar
Mathu, EM; Davies, TC. (1996) Geology and the environment in Kenya. Journal of African Earth Sciences 23:511–539.Google Scholar