Geology of Cameroon
Overview of the Geology of Cameroon
The geology of Cameroon is almost universally Precambrian metamorphic and igneous basement rock, formed in the Archean as part of the Congo Craton and the Central African Mobile Zone and covered in laterite, recent sediments and soils. Some parts of the country have sequences of sedimentary rocks from the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic as well as volcanic rock produced by the 1600 kilometer Cameroon Volcanic Line, which includes the still-active Mount Cameroon. The country is notable for gold, diamonds and some onshore and offshore oil and gas.
Stratigraphy and geologic history
The basement rocks in Cameroon are divided between the Central African Mobile Zone (CAMZ) and the Congo Craton, a section of ancient, stable continental crust.
Archean
The Congo Craton formed over two billion years ago in the Archean and covers much of southern Cameroon. In the south, it is referred to as the Ntem Group and contains gneiss, granite and charnockite. The CAMZ also dates to the Archean and includes mica schist, migmatite gneiss with plagioclase and migmatites intruded by quartz, granodiorite and diorite.
Paleozoic-Mesozoic (539–66 million years ago)
The Mangbei Basin, Douala Basin and Rio-del-Rey Basin formed in CAMZ and filled with Early Paleozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The Douala and Rio-del-Rey basins both formed as a result of the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.
The conglomerate and sandstone of Mudeck Formation probably formed in the Early Cretaceous and is overlain by fossil-bearing shale.
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