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Cenozoic
Cretaceous
Neoproterozoic


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

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Ogoja Sandstone Formation
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Ogoja Sandstone Fm base reconstruction

Ogoja Sandstone Fm


Period: 
Cretaceous

Age Interval: 
Lower Cretaceous


Province: 
Benue Trough South

Type Locality and Naming

The Asu River Gr in the Southern Benue Trough comprises the upward succession of the Ogoja Sandstone Fm, Awi Fm, Mamfe Fm, Abakaliki Fm (Abakaliki Shale Fm), and Mfamosing Limestone Fm. Ogoja Sandstone Fm is the basal part of the Asu River Gr directly overlying the Basement Complex in the Southern Benue Trough

References: 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


Lithology and Thickness

Ogoja Sandstone Fm: It is composed of conglomerates and arkosic sandstones. Its thickness is not known for certain.


Lithology Pattern: 
Aus conglomerate


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

The Ogoja sandstone lies directly on the basement complex

Upper contact

Conformably underlies the Eze-Aku Fm (Eze-Aku Shales Fm)

Regional extent

Southern Benue Trough. Ogoja Sandstone is exposed in both Ikom and Ogoja Areas (Uzuakpunwa, 1980; Petterset al., 1987).


GeoJSON

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Fossils

Ammonites (Diploceras quadratum, Hysteroceras binum, Elobiceras lobitoense, Gyaloceras ibo, Mortoniceras ishiaguense, Acanthocerass p., Acompoceras sp.), gastropods, pelecypods (Anatinaagassizi, Panopea cf. gurgitis), foraminifera, brachiopods, crinoids, algae (Cayeuxia, Pianella – Reijers and Petters, 1997), plant remains, Thalassinoides and Planolites


Age 

The entire Asu River Gr spans the Aptian through Cenomanian according to strat-chart used by Obaje (2013). Other than the Mfamosing Limestone Fm, which spans the Cenomanian, the other 4 formations are given sub-equal duration in the Aptian-Albian interval.

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Aptian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
121.40

    Ending stage: 
Aptian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
0.5

    Ending date (Ma):  
117.30

Depositional setting

Alluvial – marine depositional environment which marked a crucial juncture in the geological history of the Lower Benue Trough, marking the beginning of significant sedimentation associated with the rifting and marine transgression during the Early Cretaceous period


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.