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Geotope · City of Cape Town · 647 m

Peninsula Formation Lithology

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Penisula Formation interbedded thick quartzites and thin marine siltstones.
Photo: Alex Weiss, Forge

Spring and seep groundwater discharge from fractured Peninsula Formation quartzitic sandstones.

NW-SE faulting/fracturing results in the development of spring and seep groundwater discharge from the fractured Peninsula Formation quartzitic sandstones (forming the fractured Peninsula Aquifer), visible at this stop along the Constantia Nek Jeep Track.

Groundwater can also seep out of the more horizontal bedding planes between the ~1-2 m thick sandstone beds of the Peninsula Formation. Colonies of the perennial carnivorous plant, the Peninsula Sundew (Drosera cuneifolia), which is endemic to the Table Mountain complex, are visible along the damp seepage zones. The thick quartzitic sandstone beds (which are likely fluvial braided river/stream-derived), along with thin marine transgression siltstone beds, are clearly visible within the Peninsula Formation at this stop, all with distinct cross-bedding.

Author

Alex Weiss

Responsible for this content
Forge

Coordinates

-33.996893, 18.412324

DMS

33°59'48.8"S 18°24'44.4"E

UTM

34H 260994 6235169

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