Home Multi-Country Search About Admin Login


Information provided by geoscience team at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria --see About

Search by
Select Region(s) to search
Hold Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or Command (Mac) to select multiple
Quaternary Superficial Formation
Click to display on map of the Ancient World at:
Quaternary Superficial Fm base reconstruction

Quaternary Superficial Fm

Period: 
Quaternary

Age Interval: 
Quaternary


Province: 
Taoudeni Basin

Type Locality and Naming

This generalized formation is everywhere in the entire Taoudeni Basin (e.g., Adrar, Hodh and Hank sub-basins). Taoudeni Basin is a vast intracratonic sedimentary basin spanning parts of Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Burkina Faso and Guinea; and represents one of the world’s most widespread Proterozoic successions and contains up to 6,000 m of Late Precambrian and Palaeozoic sediments (Rooney et al. 2010).

Synonym: Quaternary superficial deposits

References: Martin-Monge et al., 2016

[Fig. 1: Location of the Taoudeni Basin Province and the four assessment units defined in the study by Brownfield et al. (2015).]

[Fig. 2: The Taoudeni Basin (Taupin et al., 2017)]

[Fig. 3: Abolag-1 well, R well and Atar Group type section stratigraphy, facies description and correlation in the Taoudeni Basin, and organic richness profile in the Abolag-1 well (Claue,1981; Rooney et al.2009; Trompette,1973; Albert-Villanueva et al. 2016).]

[Fig. 4: Generalized stratigraphy of the Taoudeni Basin in Mauritania. Lithostratigraphic name equivalences are provided for the Adrar, Hank and Hodh depocentres. The major discontinuities are numbered and reference to global glacial and tectonic events is provided. (From Martin-Monge et al. (2016) as modified after Lahondere et al. (2003, 2005).]


Lithology and Thickness

This generalized "superficial" formation is mainly Quaternary sandstones (Martin-Monge et al., 2016).


Lithology Pattern: 
Sandstone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Unconformably overlies Continental Intercalaire Fm of the the Oualata Super Gr (Oualata Supergroup)

Upper contact

Basin’s surface

Regional extent

This generalized formation occurs throughout the entire Taoudeni Basin (e.g., Adrar, Hodh and Hank sub-basins)


GeoJSON

{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"type":"MultiPolygon","coordinates":[[[[-7.61,23.3],[-5.36,25.76],[-2.91,25.41],[-1.36,24.66],[1.29,24.15],[1.9,22.75],[3.2,22.45],[0.89,20.35],[1.7,14.65],[-0.21,14.85],[-2.66,13.95],[-3.51,11.85],[-5.31,10.69],[-5.96,11.45],[-7.51,12.35],[-10.66,12.05],[-11.72,14],[-12.12,17.45],[-13.47,19.45],[-13.17,21.25],[-11.67,23.3],[-10.36,22.55],[-9.76,22.7],[-7.61,23.3]]]]}}

Fossils


Age 


Age Span: 
Quaternary – Recent (Martin-Monge et al., 2016)

    Beginning stage: 
Gelasian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.00

    Beginning date (Ma): 
2.58

    Ending stage: 
Holocene

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
0.00

Depositional setting


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

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

Wenzhe, G. (2009): Hydrocarbon generation conditions and exploration potential of the Taoudeni Basin, Mauritania. Pet. Sci., 6: pp.29-37

Taylor, C. D. and Giles, S. A. (2013): Mineral Potential for Sediment-Hosted Copper Deposits in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Phase V, Deliverable 75. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

Martin-Monge, A., Baudino, R., Gairifo-Ferreira, L. M., Tocco, R., Badali, M., Ochoa, M., Haryono, S., Soriano, S., El Hafiz, N., Mez, J. H., Chacon, B., Brisson, I., Grammatico, G., Varade, R., and Abdallah, H. (2016): An unusual Proterozoic petroleum play in Western Africa: the Atar Group carbonates (Taoudeni Basin, Mauritania). In: Sabato Ceraldi, T., Hodgkinson, R. A. & Backe, G. (eds) Petroleum Geoscience of the West Africa Margin. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 438, http://doi.org/10.1144/SP438.5

Bradley, D. C., Motts, H. A., Horton, J. D., Giles, Stuart, and Taylor, C. D. (2015): Geologic Map of Mauritania (Phase V, Deliverables 51a, 51b, and 51c), Chap. A1 of Taylor, C. D., ed., Second Projet de Renforcement Institutionnel du Sector Minier de la Republique Islamique de Mauritanie (PRISM-II): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013-1280-A1, 3 pl., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20131280.