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XIII.—Contributions to the Geology of Benguella

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2012

Extract

Benguella is a province of Angola, the chief Portuguese colony in western Africa. From the chief town, Benguella (lat. 12·35° S.) and from Catumbella (lat. 12·25° S.) old-established trade routes go inland on to the Benguella plateau, and across it along the watershed between the Congo and the Zambesi to Katanga and the Upper Congo. The geographical pioneers in this part of Africa showed that the land rises in steps from the coast to a high plateau, which consists of a foundation, of ancient crystalline and sedimentary rocks, and is flanked by younger marine beds along the coast.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1917

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References

page 495 note * The bearings given are from true north. The variation has been taken as 18° W.; at Benguella it is 18° 10' W.; at Huambo Fort 17° 53'; it decreases to the north-east.

The spelling of place-names varies considerably, and K has been often used instead of C. I have followed in most cases the spellings adopted on the Portuguese map of Angola (2nd edit., 1910) and by the Benguella Railway Co.

page 496 note * According to Schlumberger (1888) the foraminifera indicated a Miocene horizon as well.

page 497 note * These, and an account of the country visited, are published in Gregory, 1913.

page 498 note * Mr Crick tells me that this ammonite is now included in the genus Mortoniceras.

page 499 note * For the names of the gastropods and lamellibranchs I am indebted to Mr R. B. Newton.

page 503 note * Sections of limestone from the road cutting (p. 502) retain the internal structure; the corallites are about 2· mm. in diameter.

page 504 note * One of them was at first a flowing well. Both at first gave good water, but after heavy rains all the water from the deeper well became too charged with magnesia to be of use; and though this well was several times pumped dry, the water never, recovered its original good quality.

page 504 † The kilometre distances are those along the railway from Lobito.

page 512 note * There is another Cutato in the district, which is a tributary to the Zambesi.

page 512 note † Thus spelt by A. De Andrade; spelt Landulo by Varian, and also as Londulo.

page 521 note * According to current nomenclature Douvilleiceras.

page 522 note * Mr A. Holmes (1915, p. 231) also refers to the Dondo coal-bearing shales and grits of North-Western Angola as of Lower Karroo age. Cornet (1894, p. 195) says it is pre-Jurassic.

page 523 note * cf. Cornet, 1894,1 and 2,1896, and a later synopsis of his classification, 1912, 1.

page 524 note * This Hungry Country is said by Captain Boyd Cunninghame (1904, p. 155), who knows it well, to have a good soil, and he regards its poverty as unexplained.

page 529 note * A description of these and other alkaline igneous rocks from this area by Mr A. Holmes is now in course of publication (Holmes, 1915).