Quartz crystals in the Gabonese Stone Line
A few years ago, road works between Ndende and Tchibanga uncovered beautiful sections of Gabon’s distinctive weathering profile. We used the opportunity to sample the saprolite in order to obtain valuable geochemical information.
The yellowish layer at the top of the embankment is the Cover Horizon, which is actually wind-blown silt (loess) from southern Africa, deposited around 35,000 years ago. It varies in thickness from 1 to 4 metres and is found almost everywhere in Gabon. It covers much of the bedrock, but is currently being eroded.