This is a list of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Eritrea .
Contents
| Group | Formation | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Series Group | Danakil Formation | Pleistocene | [1] |
| Dogali Formation | Oligocene | [2] | |
| Antalo Limestone | Callovian-Tithonian | [3] | |
This is a list of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Eritrea .
| Group | Formation | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Series Group | Danakil Formation | Pleistocene | [1] |
| Dogali Formation | Oligocene | [2] | |
| Antalo Limestone | Callovian-Tithonian | [3] | |
Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. Ethiopia has a high central plateau that varies from 1,290 to 3,000 m above sea level, with the highest mountain reaching 4,620 m (15,157 ft).
The Afar Triangle is a geological depression caused by the Afar Triple Junction, which is part of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. The region has disclosed fossil specimens of the very earliest hominins; that is, the earliest of the human clade, and it is thought by some paleontologists to be the cradle of the evolution of humans. The Depression overlaps the borders of Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire Afar Region of Ethiopia; and it contains the lowest point in Africa, Lake Assal, Djibouti, at 155 m (509 ft) below sea level.
The Danakil Desert is a desert in northeast Ethiopia, southern Eritrea, and northwestern Djibouti. Situated in the Afar Triangle, it stretches across 136,956 square kilometres (52,879 sq mi) of arid terrain. It is inhabited by a few Afar, who engage in salt mining. The area is known for its volcanoes and extreme heat, with daytime temperatures surpassing 50 °C (122 °F). Less than 25 mm (1 in) of rainfall occurs each year. The Danakil Desert is one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth.
The Afar Region, formerly known as Region 2, is a regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the paved Awash–Assab highway. It’s bordered by Eritrea to the north and Djibouti to the northeast, and shares regional borders with the Tigray, Amhara, Oromo and Somali regions.
The Danakil Depression is the northern part of the Afar Triangle or Afar Depression in Ethiopia, a geological depression that has resulted from the divergence of three tectonic plates in the Horn of Africa.
The Dachstein Formation or Dachstein Limestone is a geologic formation in the Alps and other Tethyan mountain ranges in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Slovakia and Slovenia. It preserves fossils dated to the Norian and Rhaetian stages of the Late Triassic period.
The Danakil Alps are a highland region in Ethiopia and Eritrea with peaks over 1000 metres in height and a width varying between 40 and 70 kilometres. The area is known in the Afar language as Arrata. The alps lie along the southern Red Sea to the east of the Danakil Depression and separate it from the sea. The alps are asymmetric in cross-section with a comparatively gentle rift escarpment facing the Red Sea and intense normal faulting on the inland side.
The Antalo Limestone, also known as the Antalo Sequence, is a geological formation in Ethiopia. It is between 300 and 800 metres thick and comprises fossiliferous limestones and marls that were deposited in a reef. Marine microfossils have shown an age between 165 and 150 million years.
Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of the countries and dependencies of Africa | ||
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| Sovereign states |
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