The geology and mineral resources of mauritius by e. Banded iron formations with 64% iron hematite lenses were discovered at fderiksegazou, tazadit hills and rouessa, close to the border with western sahara in the 1970s. The ages of the zircon samples were determined using upb uraniumlead dating. The physical features and geology of mauritius journal. The geological history of mauritius began 10 million years ago table 1. Johnson and others published geological attractions for tourists in mauritius find, read and cite all the research you need. Offering comprehensive content, historical geology provides students with an understanding of the principles of historical geology and how these principles are applied in unraveling earths history. The lavas of mauritius journal of the geological society. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. The republic of mauritius is comprised of two main islands in the southern indian. The geology and physical geography of mauritius formed the subject of a communication to the geological society by major h. Mauritius has a mixed developing economy based on manufactured exports, agriculture, tourism, and financial services. Mauritius is about 40 miles long and 27 miles broad, and it consists essentially of a mass of volcanic d6bris thrown up from. Hollanda 1994 and dina 2002 were the worst two last cyclones to have affected the island.
Mascarene plateau, western indian ocean gsa bulletin. During the weathering process the translocation of disintegrated or altered. This guidebook skims over some very interesting geology. Aims and objectives the archaeology of mauritius can largely be divided by period and or agenda. Sep 08, 2014 for the next little while, i will be blogging about my recent march 2014 vacation to mauritius, a young volcanic island in the indian ocean. Geological report ministry of energy and public utilities mauritius. Wall map of africa large laminated political map geology. Mauritius is a typical tropical volcanic island with a distinct elevated central plateau above 550 m. Wikimedia commons has media related to geography of mauritius. Perfect for students, classrooms, offices, homes, or anywhere that a map is needed for education, display or decor. The geoloyg area of the basin is about 58, km 2 which is.
Bonjour mauritius offers a selection of airport transfers and tried and tested activities to make your trip to mauritius a once in a lifetime experience. But mauritius is not exclusively dependent on it, and therefore continues to have at least the possibility of making policy choices. The first period, called the emergence and older series or the ancient series, lasted from 10 million years ago to about 5 million years ago. The young volcanic landscape of mauritius georneys agu. Robert comptons classic field guide to geological mapping is now available as a pdf ebook. The highest point of mauritius is mont piton at 2,716 ft. The oldest rocks on mauritius are only 10 million years old and 1. Iron ore mining plays an important role in the economy of mauritania.
Mining began 25 kilometers north of zouerate, as part of the guelb project in. In january 2012, an inception report was subsequently presented. A geological survey was carried out in mauritius island in january 2012 by elcelectroconsult in the framework of the project preliminary study of geothermal potential in mauritius for the ministry of energy and public utilities of the republic of mauritius. Reprinted from colonial geology and mineral resources, 1950, vol. Pdf geological attractions for tourists in mauritius 2010.
Engineering geology and geotechnics discusses engineering survey methods. The island of mauritius is volcanic in origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs. In future posts, ill write a little more about the volcanic history of mauritius. Three major periods of volcanic activity resulted in the formation of the island. Media in category geology of mauritius the following 22 files are in this category, out of 22 total. The northern part is a plain that rises to a central plateau, varying in elevation from about 900 to 2,400 feet 270 to 730 metres above sea level. Johnson and others published geological attractions for tourists in mauritius 2010 find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Journal of mining and geology is the scientific publication of the nigerian mining and geosciences society. Scientists have confirmed the existence of a lost continent under the indian ocean island of mauritius that was leftover by the breakup of the supercontinent, gondwana, which started about 200 million years ago. Anticyclones affect the country during may to september cyclones affect mauritius or mauricio during novemberapril. Students will learn and understand why things happened, how they did, and how all of earths systems and subsystems are interrelated.
Its scope covers the fields of the geosciences, mining, metallurgy, materials science and geoenvironmental studies. The plateau is bordered by small mountains that may have formed the rim of an ancient. See our full hd map of mauritius with beaches, hotels, roads, attractions, district and places to visit. Geological attractions for tourists in mauritius request pdf. It shows the countries of africa and the major physical features of the continent. Mahatma gandhi institute, 2002 geomorphology 354 pages. Lava caves of the republic of mauritius, indian ocean usf scholar. Volcanic evolution on mauritius is thus broadly similar to the hawaiian pattern.
Any information that anyone can provide on mauritius geology would be most appreciated. Quarterly journal of the geological society of london, 51, 463471. Regional geological background a comprehensive synthesis of mauritius geology has already been presented in the inception. The geology and water resources of mauritius geography of mauritius series. At many places, strati graphic and structural features on the coast extend offshore, but their relationships to the rocks of the shelf and slope are unknown, and the geology of the coast must be projected seaward across the continental shelf and slope. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Geologically, the islands are made up of volcanic rocks between 7. The physical features and geology of mauritius journal of. Fence diagram showing the subsurface geology and a pro file of the piezometric surface of the sandstone aquifer in winnebago county, wis.
Highly recommended for all students doing summer field camp or anyone involved in geological mapping. Geology is a subfield of environmental studies and earth sciences that analyses the history and physical structure of the earth, its constitutive materials and the processes shaping it. I recently shared a couple of pictures of volcanic basalt in mauritius for my monday geology picture posts here and here. Mud experiments overturn longheld geological beliefs. Quarterly journal of the geological society of london, 89, 1. Trou aux cerfs also known as murrs volcano is a dormant volcano in curepipe, mauritius. The book is comprised of 12 chapters that cover several concerns in engineering, such as building foundations, slopes, and construction materials. Geology and water resources of winnetago county, wisconsin. The submarine mascarene plateau, lying east and northeast of madagascar in the west central indian ocean, extends as a faulted composite arc for 2300 km, from the precambrian granitic microcontinent of seychelles bank southward through the coralreefcapped volcanic structures. Intermediate and more recent series of volcanic eruptions from several small emissions of volcanic rock distributed over the whole island cover the ancient central volcanic plateau and the deeply eroded valleys heading to the sea. Geochemistry of mauritius and the origin of rejuvenescent volcanism. The mafic basalts of the two islands formed in relation to the hotspot that generated the deccan traps and coral reefs built on the volcanoes forming nonvolcanic sediments. The physical features and geology of mauritius journal of the. Structural geology is a groundbreaking reference that introduces you to the concepts of nonlinear solid mechanics and nonequilibrium thermodynamics in metamorphic geology, offering a fresh perspective on rock structure and its potential for new interpretations of geological evolution this book stands alone in unifying deformation and metamorphism and the development of the mineralogical.
The geology of mauritius island and the surrounding sea areas of the indian ocean and the role played in geodynamic evolution have been. Major haig showed that mauritius is formed of basaltic lavas and tuffs, and that several of the hills in the interior of the island. The map of mauritius is also available in pdf for print. Landforms of africa this page was last updated on april 7, 2017. Currently 1 of these is available to download in pdf format. Chapter 1 covers site investigation, while chapter 2 tackles geophysical exploration. The first period, called the emergence and older series or the ancient series, lasted from. The island of mauritius is the centre of a line of threereunion, mauritius, and rodriguezsome hundreds of miles apart. Geology the closepet granite of the upper reaches of the cauvery basin is a pink granite consisting mainly of quartz, plagioclase, microcline, perthiteand subordinate hornblende. The road sector between ripailles and valton is established on volcanic formations emitted between 0. It is 605 m 1,985 ft high and has a welldefined cone and crater.
The sevencoloured earth of chamarel is a geological curiosity. Located 1,200 miles 2,000 km off the southeastern coast of africa, in the indian ocean, the island of mauritius is relatively young, having only been created nearly 8 million years ago by volcanic activity although molded by volcanoes, there hasnt been any active on the island for more than 100,000 years. The local climate is tropical, modified by southeast trade winds. For the next little while, i will be blogging about my recent march 2014 vacation to mauritius, a young volcanic island in the indian ocean. This report offers some insight into the geology of mauritius. This beautiful political map of africa is a large laminated wall map with great cultural and physical detail. Mobile belts and the large taoudeni basin formed and filled with sediments in the connection with the panafrican orogeny mountain building event 600 million years ago and a subsequent orogeny. Weathering, disintegration or alteration of rock in its natural or original position at or near the earths surface through physical, chemical, and biological processes induced or modified by wind, water, and climate. Rainfall depth, duration, intensity, kinetic energy, and erosivity were analysed for 385. For the development of geothermal energy in mauritius geological report elcelectroconsult s. The geology of mauritius and rodrigues is comparatively recent.
The presence of the ancient zircons was inconsistent with the geology of the more recently formed volcanic islands, and was evidence of ancient fragments of continental lithosphere beneath mauritius that were brought to the surface by plumerelated lavas. Simplified geologic map of mauritius modified from the recent 1. Two great magmatic and structural cycles gave rise to volcanic formations. The geoloyg area of the basin is about 58, km 2 which is about three percent of the culturable area of the country.
Mauritius to assess the economic performance of its production functions and marketing channels. Government efforts to diversify the economy after 1980 have been successful, and the island is no longer as completely dependent on sugar production as it was throughout most of its history. Pdf the sevencoloured earth of chamarel, mauritius 2010. The island of mauritius is the centre of a line of threereunion, mauritius, and. The island of mauritius is of volcanic origin and formed by several series of basaltic rock of volcanic activities.
Flat gaps in sedimentary rock layers challenge long geologic ages. The geology and water resources of mauritius geography of mauritius series proag, virendra on. Hydrology, geology or aquifer type compilation of the hydrogeological map atlas for the sadc region. Major haig showed that mauritius is formed of basaltic lavas and tuffs, and that several of the hills in the interior of the island are. The geology of mauritania is built on more than two billion year old archean crystalline basement rock in the reguibat shield of the west african craton, a section of ancient and stable continental crust. Sadc groundwater grey literature archive sadc bgs giz.
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