Beaufort Group

Beaufort Group
Beaufort Group
Stratigraphic range: Guadalupian-Early Triassic; ~
Type	Geologic group
Underlies	Stormberg Group
Overlies	Ecca Group
Thickness	up to 22,965.88 feet (7,000 m)
Lithology
Primary	Mudstone, claystone, siltstone
Other	Sandstone, shale, Tuff
Location
Region	Northern Cape, Western, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State.
Country	South Africa
Extent	145 000 km squared
	; A simplified geological map of the outcrops of Karoo Supergroup rocks in Southern Africa. The Beaufort Group is represented by the yellow key on the map.

The Beaufort Group is the third of the main subdivisions of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. It is composed of a lower Adelaide Subgroup and an upper Tarkastad Subgroup.^[1]^[2] It follows conformably after the Ecca Group and unconformably underlies the Stormberg Group. Based on stratigraphic position, lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlations,^[3] palynological analyses, and other means of geological dating, the Beaufort Group rocks are considered to range between Middle Permian (Wordian) to Early Triassic (Anisian) in age.^[4]^[5]

^ Keyser, A. W., & Smith, R. M. H. (1978). Vertebrate biozonation of the Beaufort Group with special reference to the western Karoo Basin. Geological Survey, Department of Mineral And Energy Affairs, Republic of South Africa.
^ Smith, R.M.H., Eriksson, P.G. and Botha, W.J. (1993-01-01). "A review of the stratigraphy and sedimentary environments of the Karoo-aged basins of Southern Africa". Journal of African Earth Sciences (and the Middle East). 16 (1–2): 143–169. Bibcode:1993JAfES..16..143S. doi:10.1016/0899-5362(93)90164-L. ISSN 0899-5362.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Rubidge, B. S.; Hancox, P. J. (1997). "The role of fossils in interpreting the development of the Karoo Basin". Palaeontologia Africana. ISSN 0078-8554.
^ Rubidge, B. S. (ed.) 1995b. Biostratigraphy of the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup). South African Committee of Stratigraphy. Biostratigraphic Series 1. Pretoria, Council for Geoscience.
^ Jirah, Sifelani; McPhee, Blair W.; Viglietti, Pia A.; Bamford, Marion K.; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Hancox, P. John; Barbolini, Natasha; Day, Michael O.; Rubidge, Bruce S. (2016), "Advances in Nonmarine Karoo Biostratigraphy: Significance for Understanding Basin Development", Origin and Evolution of the Cape Mountains and Karoo Basin, Regional Geology Reviews, Springer, Cham, pp. 141–149, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-40859-0_14, ISBN 9783319408583