Cenozoic

Cretaceous

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Gwandu Formation

Gwandu Fm

Period:

Paleogene

Age Interval:

Eocene

Province:
Sokoto Basin (S. Iullemmeden Basin)

Type Locality and Naming

The type locality was proposed by Kogbe (1972) to be at BirninKebbi in the Gwandu Emirate, Nigeria. Equivalent to Continental Terminal Gr.

References: Reyment,1965; Adeleye,1975; Kogbe,1976; Dessauvagie, 1975; Petters, 1978; Offodile, 1980; Whiteman, 1982; Benkhelil,1989; Okosun, 1992; Guiraud, 1993; Akandeet al., 1998; Zaborski et al., 1998; Jauroet al., 2007; Obaje,2009; Nwajide, 2013

[Fig. 1. Stratigraphic successions in the Nigerian sector of the lullummeden Basin (Sokoto Basin)]

Lithology and Thickness

Consists of continental lacustrine sediments and the youngest Paleogene formation in the Sokoto section of the Iullemmeden Basin. It has massive white clay interbedded with coarse-grained red sandstone and mudstone with lignite or peat bands (Whiteman, 1982). The maximum thickness was estimated to be about 1000ft near the Niger-Nigeria frontier (Kogbe, 1976).

Lithology Pattern:

Sandy claystone

Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Overlies the Gamba Fm (Sokoto Gr)

Upper contact

Overlain by the Kalahari Sands?????? Check. NO – See Geology and Resources of Nigeria book section on the Neogene deposits

Regional extent

Iullemmeden Basin (22,000km² area – Nwajide, 2013)

GeoJSON

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Fossils

Palynomorphs, Plant fossils, mollusks

Age

Eocene

Age Span:

Beginning stage:

Ypresian

Fraction up in beginning stage:

0.0

Beginning date (Ma):

56.00

Ending stage:

Priabonian

Fraction up in the ending stage:

1.0

Ending date (Ma):

33.90

Depositional setting

Continental and lacustrine (Whiteman, 1982)

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.