Bida Sandstone Fm
Period:
Cretaceous
Age Interval:
Campanian
Province:
Bida Basin- North and Central
Type Locality and Naming
The Bida Sandstone is divisible into two members, namely the Doko Member and the Jika Member. The Doko Member is the basal unit and Jima Member is the upper unit of the formation. The Doko Member is also in the Bida area. The Jima Sandstone Member is exposed on the south facing slope of a residual conical hill 2.5km east northeast of the Jima village. The Bida Sandstone is located in the Bida area.
Reference section: Reyment,1965; Adeleye,1975; Dessauvagie, 1975; Kogbe, 1976; Petters, 1978; Offodile, 1980; Whiteman, 1982; Benkhelil,1989; Okosun, 1992; Guiraud, 1993; Akande et al., 1998; Zaborski et al., 1998; Jauro et al., 2007; Obaje, 2009; Nwajide, 2013
[Fig. 1 Stratigraphic successions in the Mid-Niger Basin (also known as Bida or Nupe Basin)]
Lithology and Thickness
The formation comprises a succession of cross-bedded, white to grey sandstones intercalated by kaolinitic clays, horizons of laterite crusts and concretions, and fossiliferous black shales containing an entirely arenaceous foraminiferal assemblage (Nwajide, 2013). Two members have been recognised in this formation – the Doko and Jima Members (Adeleye, 1972; Nwajide, 1997). The Doko Member is the basal unit and it is about 600m thick (Nwajide, 2013) and composed of coarse grained arkosic to feldspathic, with sandy siltstones and intraformational breccias with exposures around Wushishi village and it rests directly on the basement complex in the Kotangora area. The Jima Member is a cross-bedded quartzose sandstone, under 295m thick, with siltstones, claystones and breccia (Nwajide, 2013). Trace fossils comprising mainly Ophiomorpha burrows have been observed. These were also observed in the overlying Sakpe Ironstone Fm (Sakpe Fm). The total thickness of this unit is estimated from aeromagnetic studies to be over 3000m (Whiteman, 1982) and is the lateral equivalent of the Lokoja Fm in southern Bida Basin.
Lithology Pattern:
Coarse-grained sandstone
Relationships and Distribution
Lower contact
Lies non-conformable atop the Precambrian Basement rock
Upper contact
Overlain by Sakpe Fm
Regional extent
Bida Basin- North and Central
GeoJSON
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Fossils
Trace fossils, Pollen and spores
Age
Late Cretaceous (Campanian; but assumed begins in mid-Early due to timing of onset of basin-fill in south Bida Basin?)
Age Span:
Beginning stage:
Campanian
Fraction up in beginning stage:
0.25
Beginning date (Ma):
80.78
Ending stage:
Campanian
Fraction up in the ending stage:
1.0
Ending date (Ma):
72.17
Depositional setting
tropical-subtropical braided stream environment. High-energy braided river
Depositional pattern:
Additional Information
Compiler:
Enam O. Obiosio, Solomon Joshua Avong and Henry Nasir Suleiman (2024)- Stratigraphic Lexicon compiled from the following books:Nigeria: Its Petroleum Geology, Resources and Potential, by Arthur Whiteman, 1982; (Volume 1) Published by Graham and Trotman Ltd.A review of the Cretaceous System in Nigeria by P. M. Zaborski (1998) In Africa Geoscience Review, Vol.5, No.4, pp385-483.
Geology and Mineral Resources of Nigeria by Nuhu George Obaje, Published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009; http://www.springer.com/series/772.
Geology of Nigeria Sedimentary Basins, Nwajide C. S., 2013; Published by CSS Bookshops Limited, Lagos Nigeria.