Geology of Uganda

The geology of Uganda extends back to the Archean and

Proterozoic eons of the Precambrian, and much of the country is
underlain by gneiss, argillite and other metamorphic rocks that
are sometimes over 2.5 billion years old. Sedimentary rocks and
new igneous and metamorphic units formed throughout the
Proterozoic and the region was partially affected by the Pan-
African orogeny and Snowball Earth events. Through the
Mesozoic and Cenozoic, ancient basement rock has weathered
into water-bearing saprolite and the region has experienced
periods of volcanism and rift valley formation. The East Africa
Rift gives rise to thick, more geologically recent sediment
sequences and the country's numerous lakes. Uganda has
extensive natural resources, particularly gold.

Stratigraphy and geologic history

Archean eon (4 billion - 2.5 billion years ago)

The oldest rocks in Uganda date to the Archean and are more
than 2.5 billion years old, forming a gneiss and granulite
complex in the north and center of the country.
Mesoarchean (3.2 - 2.8 billion years ago)
The oldest rocks in Uganda are the Mesoarchean gneisses and
granulites of the Uleppi Group (or ‘Complex’) together with the
associated Goli charnockitic gneiss, both reckoned to have been
formed around 3,080 million years ago, in the extreme
northwest of the country between Nebbi and Koboko. The
slightly younger Karuma Complex dated to 2,990 million years
ago is found in a tract of country extending north-east from the
eastern shores of Lake Albert to the Victoria Nile.[1]

The Watian Group rocks in the West Nile region date to the
Mesoarchean, 2.9 billion years ago and metamorphosed to
granulite grade on the sequence of metamorphic facies. Other
rocks, similar to the Watian Group form enclaves within gneiss
sequences in the Karamoja District.

These Archean rock formations tend to also include quartz

diorite, acid and intermediate granulites and less commonly,
basic granulites. Aruan Group rocks overly the Watian Group in
the West Nile area, with biotite gneiss, hornblende gneiss,
migmatite and granitic gneiss and quartzites. Karamoja Gneiss
Group rocks share a very similar lithology to the Aruan Group,
along with the eastern West Nile Mirian Group, although this
group has experienced intense isoclinal folding.[2]: 264

Neoarchean (2.8 - 2.5 billion years ago)

The Neoarchean is represented by rhyolites, porphyry, tuff and
basalt in the Nyanzian System, close to the Kenya border and in
southeast Uganda.[2]: 264 Most are between 2650 - 2590 million
years old.
Proterozoic eon

Paleoproterozoic (2.5 billion – 1.6 billion years ago)

The Ruwenzori Fold Belt (also known as the Buganda-Toro
System) dates to the Paleoproterozoic and covers much of
western and south-central Uganda. The fold belt is mainly
argillite, with thick amphibolite in the Jinja area and basal
arenite in some locations. Parts of the belt are granitized, with
low-grade phyllite close to Lake Victoria. Overall, the
metamorphic grade tends to decrease southwards. The
Ruwenzori Fold Belt includes the Igara Schist gneiss, quartzite
and mica schist, as well as the sandstones, slate and phyllite of
the Bwamba Pass Series and the Kilembe Series.

The Buganda Group of rocks comprising orthoquartzites,

conglomerates, metavolcanics, slates, phyllites, mica schists and
metasandstones is found around the shores of Lake Victoria
from Jinja westwards and across as far as the largely faulted
eastern edge of the Western Rift.[3]

Mesoproterozoic (1.6 billion - 1 billion years ago)

The Kibaran orogeny impacted the region in the
Mesoproterozoic, forming the arenites, argillites, siltstones and
metacalcareous rocks of Karagwe-Ankole Belt, which
unconformably overlies the Buganda-Toro System in the
southwest. The Madi Series in northwest Uganda may date to a
similar time period, but its age remains poorly understood.

A mix of quartzites, slates, shales, conglomerates and shales

constitute the Muyage and Ruvubu groups grouped as the
Kagera-Buhweju Supergoup in the region between Rakai and
Mbarara, north of Busheyri and near Kamwenge. An arcuate
suite of dykes were emplaced around 1,370 million years ago
within the largely Neoarchaean and Palaeoproterozoic rocks
from Kampala westwards. The Mityana Group of sandstones and
conglomerates occur around Lake Wamala and nearby Mityana
as well as forming the larger part of the Ssese Islands in Lake
Victoria.[4]

Neoproterozoic (1 billion - 539 million years ago)

The Neoproterozoic Bunyoro Series a 160-kilometer section of
central Uganda, built on a bottom unit of tillite, likely related to
the Snowball Earth glacial deposits from the period. The
unmetamorphosed, molasse related Singo Series and Mityana
Series of the Bukoban System are common in the west-central
parts of the country. Karasuk Group rocks including gneiss,
amphibolite, marble, quartzite and ultramafic rocks form a 200-
by 40-kilometer strip near the Kenyan border, related to the
Neoproterozoic Pan-African orogeny.

Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks dominate the north-east of

Uganda. The gneisses, granulite, marble, amphibolite and
quartzite of the Karasuk Supergoup underlie the border region
north of Nakapiripirit, extending east into Kenya. Multiple
thrust faults exist within this unit. West of Nakapiripirit is a
major klippe of the gneisses and granulites of the West Karamoja
Group forming the Ukutat Massif. Its entire outcrop is thrust-
bound except where overlain by Cenozoic volcanics. Similar
rocks occupy the country northeast of a line through Pader and
Kitgum to form the Akur Massif whilst a third klippe forms the
Morungole Massif to the northeast. These klippen are intruded
by a suite of granites, charnockites and similar rocks dating from
around 680 to 740 million years ago.[5]
Phanerozoic eon

Paleozoic
During the Paleozoic, between 539 and 251 million years ago, the
supercontinent Gondwana, including Uganda, joined with
Euramerica to form the new supercontinent Pangaea. A large rift
valley formed in southern Pangaea spanning southern Africa and
southern South America and filled with sediments, depositing
the Karoo Supergroup, the most extensive stratigraphic unit in
Africa. Compared with neighboring countries, Uganda has
comparatively few Karoo rocks. Down-faulted outliers are
situated beneath Entebbe, Dagusi Island and Bugiri. Deposition
of the Karoo continued into the Mesozoic.

Mesozoic (251 million years ago – 66 million years ago)

There are some very limited outcrops of rocks dating from the
Mesozoic, these being the mudstones and siltstones of the Ecca
Formation and the tillites of the Kiruruma River Formation,
collected together as the Karoo Supergroup. These isolated
occurrences are to be found scattered to the north of Lake
Victoria (Bugiri, Entebbe and Dagusi Island, ?Katonga River)
and in the case of the KRF, just northwest of Kabale (Kiruruma
River) in the extreme south-west of Uganda.[6] Throughout the
late Mesozoic into the Cenozoic, Uganda experienced the
regional effects of the East Africa Rift, which caused deep layers
of sediments—often laden with fossils—to accumulate as
sedimentary rocks in rift valleys.
Cenozoic (66 million years ago – present)
Several volcanic centres in the east of the country were active
during the Cenozoic. The carbonatites and nephelinites, lavas
and agglomerates together with lahar deposits are collectively
referred to as the Elgon Complex after Mount Elgon, the
principal eruptive centre. Sediments of the Albertine Supergroup
which include lavas, tuffs, silts, sands and gravels are found
widely deposited within the Western (Albertine) Rift. The basalts
and other deposits of the Bufumbira Formation occur in the
southwestern extremity of the country. Nephelinites and basalts
collected together as the Ngenge Formation are distributed in
the Mount Elgon area and northwards. Superficial deposits of
the last few million years include widespread development of
laterites and deposition of alluvial sands and gravels by rivers.[7]

In the Miocene, volcanic activity near the Kenyan border created

the mountains in the Karamoja region. Carbonatite ring
complexes formed due to the regionally unique
geochemistry.[2]: 264

Structural geology & Tectonics

Structurally, the geology of Uganda is strongly influenced by fold
belts and shear zones, as well as the East Africa Rift related
crustal downwarping in the Pleistocene that formed Lake
Victoria. The Aswa Shear Zone is one example of several
Neoproterozoic shear zones in Precambrian rocks, running for
300 kilometers on a northwestern trend.

The country sits on two of the several fragments of African

continental crust which have remained largely stable over this
period of time; the Tanzania Craton in the south and the Bomu-
Kibalian or Northeast Congo-Uganda Shield in the north. These
two areas of Archaean age crust are wrapped around by mobile
belts of Proterozoic age. More recently, as East Africa begins to
split from the rest of the continent, the two arms of the East
African Rift System have developed on either side of the country.
The western arm of the rift system runs through western
Uganda, where it is known as the Albertine Rift, whilst the
eastern arm runs immediately east of its border with Kenya in
the east. The two rifts define a tectonic block referred to as the
Victoria Plate. Younger rocks are largely confined to the
Cenozoic volcanic activity associated with the development of
the two rift arms and sediments infilling the western rift.[8]

The East Africa Rift defines the western border of Uganda with
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The rift is occupied by
Lake Albert, Lake Edward and Lake George, along with the horst
block of the Ruwenzori Mountains. Modern sediment depths in
the Rift Valley are believed by 1.8 to 4 kilometers. Although
volcanoes are no longer active in Uganda, the country has some
remnant hot springs.[2]: 265

Hydrogeology
Unconsolidated and unconfined fluvial aquifers, with an average
water table depth of 20 meters are common along rivers in
Uganda. However, most of the country is underlain by igneous
and metamorphic crystalline basement rock from the
Precambrian. Water in these semi-confined units occurs five to
20 meters below ground, either in weathered saprolite or
fractures in the rock.[9]
Natural resource geology
Because of long-running, intense weathering, Uganda has
deposits of gold, niobium, tantalum, tin, rare earth elements and
apatite. Alluvial gold, tin and tungsten are mined in the
Karagwe-Ankolean system.[10] Gold has been mined from quartz
vein and alluvial deposits near Busia, hosted in an Archean
greenstone belt, and occurs in Paleoproterozoic and
Mesoproterozoic metasediments at Buhweju and Kigezi.
Exploration in the Buhweju-Mashonga area, indicates that
artisanal gold mining is taking place in laterite gravels, overlying
kaolin bedrock.[2]: 265 The Cretaceous carbonatite ring
complexes have provided vermiculite, titanium, vanadium,
uranium, thorium and phosphate.

References
1. "EI Sourcebook | Uganda" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
0405090213/http://eisourcebook.org/1269_Uganda.html).
www.eisourcebook.org. Archived from the original on 2016-
04-05.
2. Schluter, Thomas (2006). Geological Atlas of Africa.
Springer.
3. "EI Sourcebook | Uganda" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
0405090213/http://eisourcebook.org/1269_Uganda.html).
www.eisourcebook.org. Archived from the original on 2016-
04-05.
4. "EI Sourcebook | Uganda" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
0405090213/http://eisourcebook.org/1269_Uganda.html).
www.eisourcebook.org. Archived from the original on 2016-
04-05.
 5. "EI Sourcebook | Uganda" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
0405090213/http://eisourcebook.org/1269_Uganda.html).
www.eisourcebook.org. Archived from the original on 2016-
04-05.
6. "EI Sourcebook | Uganda" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
0405090213/http://eisourcebook.org/1269_Uganda.html).
www.eisourcebook.org. Archived from the original on 2016-
04-05.
7. "EI Sourcebook | Uganda" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
0405090213/http://eisourcebook.org/1269_Uganda.html).
www.eisourcebook.org. Archived from the original on 2016-
04-05.
8. "EI Sourcebook | Uganda" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
0405090213/http://eisourcebook.org/1269_Uganda.html).
www.eisourcebook.org. Archived from the original on 2016-
04-05.
9. "Hydrogeology of Uganda" (http://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.
php/Hydrogeology_of_Uganda#Hydrogeology). British
Geological Survey.
10. "EI Sourcebook | Uganda" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
0405090213/http://eisourcebook.org/1269_Uganda.html).
www.eisourcebook.org. Archived from the original on 2016-
04-05.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

title=Geology_of_Uganda&oldid=1284060311"