Karoo Supergroup

The Karoo Supergroup is a widespread succession of sedimentary and volcanic rocks deposited across southern Africa from the late Paleozoic into the early Mesozoic. Its strata record changing environments, major eruptions, and the transition toward Gondwana’s breakup.

Dwyka Group: A glacially influenced rock succession at the base of the Karoo Supergroup in much of southern Africa. Its diamictites and related deposits mark the succession’s earliest widespread phase.
Karoo large igneous province: A vast Early Jurassic volcanic province of flood basalts and related intrusions across southern Africa and Antarctica. Its eruptions produced the lava sequences preserved at the top of the supergroup.
Burgersdorp Formation: A Lower Triassic fossil-rich formation of the Beaufort Group in South Africa. Its vertebrate assemblages document recovery and ecological change after the end-Permian extinction.
Pangaea: A supercontinent that assembled most of Earth’s landmasses during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic. Karoo deposition took place while southern Africa lay within Pangaea.
Permian–Triassic extinction event: A mass extinction about 252 million years ago that eliminated most marine species and greatly reshaped terrestrial ecosystems. Karoo vertebrate fossils document ecological changes around this major extinction.
Ecca Group: A Karoo succession dominated by shale and sandstone deposited largely in marine and deltaic settings. Its basin sediments record the shift from glacial conditions to extensive waters and deltas.
Dwyka glaciation: A late Paleozoic glacial episode recorded by glacial deposits across parts of southern Gondwana. Glacial erosion and deposition supplied the characteristic basal deposits in many Karoo basins.
Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone: A Triassic fossil assemblage zone characterized by abundant remains of the dicynodont Lystrosaurus. Its fossils illustrate the distinctive vertebrate communities preserved in Karoo strata.
Gondwana breakup: The progressive fragmentation of Gondwana that opened new ocean basins during the Mesozoic. Jurassic volcanism near the succession’s top accompanied the tectonic changes preceding fragmentation.
Karoo Basin coal: Coal deposits formed from ancient vegetation in parts of the Karoo succession, especially within the Ecca Group. These beds became a major energy resource in South Africa.

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