Geology's Significant Sites and their Contributions to Geoheritage
CONTAINS OPEN ACCESS

This volume samples global geoheritage locales that impacted the history of geological understanding. From internationally celebrated sites to sacred indigenous areas, contributing authors celebrate a rich geological history and the preservation of Earth's geodiversity – providing cautionary tales of exceptional sites that were almost lost to future generations.
The value of the Belingwe Greenstone Belt, Zimbabwe, as a national geoheritage site Available to Purchase
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Published:July 12, 2024
Abstract
Products of geological processes, such as rock formations, unconformities, structures, minerals, fossils and landforms, represent unique records of the evolution of the Earth. These form a coherent picture showing how the Earth evolved, but the picture becomes blurred with antiquity. Consequently, there are challenges in gathering information from the Archean, the period during which the foundations of the Earth were laid down. The 2.7 Ga Belingwe Greenstone Belt in Zimbabwe has proved to be valuable because it has some of the best-preserved Archean stratigraphy in the world. An unconformity between sialic basement and supracrustal rocks of the greenstone belt, and exotic rocks, such as komatiites and stromatolites, contributes immensely toward our knowledge of the evolution of the young Earth and the beginning of life. The frequent use of the Belingwe Greenstone Belt examples to explain geotectonic processes of the early Earth gives testimony to the importance of this structure. Interpretation of some of the features of the Greenstone Belt is sometimes controversial, which forms areas of endless research to better understand the Archean Era. It is for these reasons that arguments are presented for consideration of the Belingwe Greenstone Belt as a national geoheritage site.
- Africa
- Archean
- asbestos
- Belingwe greenstone belt
- biogenic structures
- Cheshire Formation
- columnar joints
- crust
- fractures
- geologic sites
- igneous rocks
- intrusions
- komatiite
- lava
- life origin
- metamorphic rocks
- migmatites
- mining
- paleoclimatology
- pillow structure
- plate tectonics
- plutonic rocks
- Precambrian
- sedimentary structures
- silicates
- sills
- Southern Africa
- stromatolites
- ultramafics
- unconformities
- volcanic rocks
- Zimbabwe
- Manjeri Formation
- Ngezi Group
- Mtshingwe Group
- geoheritage sites