Archean foreland basin tectonics from the Witwatersrand, South Africa

The Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa is the best-known of Archean sedimentary basins and contains some of the largest gold reserves in the world. Sediments in the basin include a lower flysch-type sequence and an upper molassic facies, both of which contain abundant silicic volcanic detritus. The strata are thicker and more proximal on the northwestern side of the basin which is, at least locally, bound by thrust faults. These and other features indicate that the Witwatersrand strata were deposited in a foreland basin. A regional geologic synthesis suggests that his basin developed initially on the cratonward side of an Andean-type arc. Remarkably similar Phanerozoic basins may be found in the southern Andes above zones of shallow subduction. We suggest that the continental collision between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons at about 2.7 Ga caused further subsidence and deposition in the Witwatersrand Basin. Regional uplift during this later phase of development placed the basin on the cratonward edge of a collision-related plateau, now represented by the Limpopo Province. Striking similarities are seen between this phase of Witwatersrand Basin evolution and active basins located north of the Tibetan Plateau. The geologic evidence is not so compatible with earlier suggestions that themore » Witwatersrand strata were deposited in a rift or half-graben.« less