The Concealed Pre-Hercynian Basement Between Africa and North America

Abstract

The concealed pre-Hercynian basement between Africa and North America is far less extensive than the Cadomian, Ligerian and Acadian terrains described further North; furthermore, it crops out only rarely on the margins of these two continents. On land, the many drill-holes which reach the basement in the Coastal Plain area of the U.S.A. have certainly provided a great amount of data; however, this information is difficult to bring together in a synthesis (Thomas et al. 1988), being widely spread between many different companies and state surveys — the data were sometimes collected a long time ago and the descriptions may be incomplete. On the African side, the compilation of information is much easier since the rare documents in existence have practically all been published. Because of the lack of accurate data concerning the more ancient basement, all Pre-Cambrian formations will be treated together in this chapter, along with Palaeozoic terrains that pre-date the Hercynian orogeny.