Joshie with a rock from Kruger National Park,  and collection of semi-precious stones

Joshua recently visited Treeferns with his father, mother and sister. He displayed an exceptional interest in and knowledge of the rocks and geology on the farm. Asked what he wanted to be  one day, his reply was most convincingly, ” A Geologist!”  As the geology of the farm is one of our attractions, we considered it appropriate to honour him  on the web site to also encourage him to live his dream.  Here’s the  youngest “Geologist” you will ever come across :

Gebore 27 Oktober 2004. Hy’s nou 6 jaar oud. Toe hy vier was het my ma vir hom ‘n klip van Namibië af gebring wat koper in het. Dit was die begin van sy belangstelling in klippe. Van toe af tel hy al wat ‘n klip is op en ons het ook al baie klippies gekoop vir hom. Hy het ‘n groot versameling boeke oor kristalle, klippe en fossiele. Hy het ook ‘n groot belangstelling in fossiele en skulpe. Het ‘n groot versameling van klippe, fosiele en skulpe ( ook foto’s bygesit). Toe Morne verlede jaar in Amerika was, het hy vir Joshua ‘n regte ‘aligator’ gebring (harde een). Daar is ook ‘n foto by van hom in die Kruger Wildtuin waar hy ‘n groot klip opgetel het en saam gebring het huis toe.

Ek het ‘n paar foto’s geneem van Joshua en sy klippe.  Een is van die opgestopte  “aligator” kop uit Amerika. Ek heg dit ook aan.

Groete,

Gerda

Stone Henge, England (Acknowledgment Google)

Stonehenge is an ancient stone structure in the county of Wiltshire, England. It consists of large standing stones believed by Archaeologists to have been erected 2500 BC. Evidence was found that Stonehenge served as a burial ground. It is a national monument.

Rock pillars at Vlakfontein

Not quite as spectacular, Treeferns Trout Lodge has its own “stonehenge”, standing rocks or pillars eroded over years. The farm also has an interesting geological history, i.e. ripple rock or fossil  sand beds,  beautiful  rock formations, faults, etc. One such solidified sand bed is situated near the chalets. It has been partly cleared as an attraction. To enhance the significance of this phenomenon, a stone  wall  or facade of the three main rock types on the farm  has been erected around the sand bed. These are sedimentary, igneous or volcanic, and metamorphic rock types.

A slide show  of these rock formations follows:

Age-old Mpumalanga

The solid bedrock of Mpumalanga tells a rich story of immense antiquity; a story that projects so far back into the past that it is almost impossible to comprehend.

It involves a time scale stretching to infinity, and takes us back to when the earth was a mere 20 per cent of its present age.

Africa’s oldest known rocks come from Mpumalanga and adjacent Swaziland, exposed in the rugged Barberton mountain chains that run all the way from Elukwatini and Tjakastad to Komatipoort, straddling the Swaziland border.

Because the world’s oldest fossils have been found here the area is a Mecca for scientists interested in how the young earth worked 3 500 000 millennia ago, and in searching for new clues to the origin of life.

In a real sense, Mpumalanga represents the cradle of life.

The earth is about 4 550 million years old, but no terrestrial rocks that old have ever been found: the oldest known rocks are from Canada where, in a small area near the Arctic Circle, the Acasta gneisses have been dated to just more than 4 000 million years in age.

Click here to read the whole story written by Prof Maarten de Wit: A History Of Deep Time

AEON

Africa Earth Observatory Network

University of Cape Town

Department of Geological Sciences

20 March 2009

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

Geological and geophysical  experiment in the Dullstroom-Barberton-Badplaas-Elukwetini-Tjakastad-Songimvelo-Ekulindini region.

Dear sir/Madam

I am a professor at the University of Cape Town. We are conducting a geological survey to study the origin of the rocks in this area. The rocks of this region are some of the oldest in the world. Our study is focussed on what these very old rocks ( more than three and a half billion years old) can tell us about how the Earth during that time and how it has change over time; and how we might take improve ways to take care of it now.

To be able to carry out this experiment, we would like to have your permission to access your property, and place in the ground a small piece of equipment with which we can measure the electrical currents in the ground. Our experiments are not destructive and are not harmful. At each site the equipment is left on the ground for 3 days, and is then moved on. All the scientists are instructed to respect the wishes of the property owner and too take special care not to destroy any vegetation or damage fences and roads. Everything will be left in place as it was before we arrive.

I would like to ask for your cooperation and help wherever possible to make this a successful experiment. I will be happy to send you a summary of the results after we finish. I am also happy for me and my colleagues to come and talk to you about our work and findings should this be of interest to you.

Please find attached a short outline of the details of our experiment.

I thank you for your understanding and generosity to help us.

Yours sincerely

Sgn Professor Maarten de Wit

The stone beacons where the instrument was planted.

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I have a few passions, one of which are stones and rocks. Wherever I go my eyes scan the earth and  environment, looking for exciting stones, rocks, and rock formations.  Therefore, over the years  I have collected some precious specimens. We also have a rockery and water feature at home made of stone from the farm.

Imagine picking up a glistening stone, quartzite or perfectly rounded pebble knowing it may have moved there thousands of kilometers or eroded by wind or water over many many years, realizing you may be the first stumbling over that stone or seeing that rock for the first time ever. It is enough to give anyone goose-flesh. Awesome thoughts ! In this sense every stone you pick up is precious.

Vlakfontein farm, the home of Treeferns Trout Lodge,  is endowed with an abundance of colourful eroded rocks, and rock formations making for interesting views and photography.

Therefore some information on this subject is of interest to our visitors.

There are three main types of rock, viz. sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic :

Sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks are created when pieces of earth or sediment like mud, sand, gravel, and minerals are broken down by wind and water  and washed away to settle  and compact to rock on the bottom of a body of water such as the ocean, lake or river over millions of years. Examples of sedimentary rock are sandstone, limestone, dolomite, and coal. The presence of sandstone outcropping on the farm suggests the primeval excistence of a  river or lake which together with solidified sand bed or ripple rock strongly supports this theory. (See “Ripple Rock” under “Geology” on this Web.)

Igneous rock. Igneous rocks are formed mainly underground when melted rock or lava deep in the earth pushes through the crust of the earth like in a volcanic eruption, and then cooles and solidifies above the ground. Granite, dolerite, and quartz are igneous rock. Specimens are also found on the farm.

Metamorphic rock. These are sedimentary or igneous rocks that have undergone change or metamorphisis caused mainly by huge pressure, and/or heat within the earth’s crust. Examples are quartzite, marble, slate.  This picture of crystal like rock was also taken on the farm.

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Ripples in the sand are typically not preserved long enough to solidify into rock formations, as they are usually eroded away soon after they are made. However, there are some places where ripples are found in rock layers.  Vlakfontein farm is one of few places to host  some of these rare and ancient  phenomena.

The ripple marks on this rock were created some million years ago by waves in a shallow body of water as seen on a river bank. Buried by deposition of silt and subsequently subjected to great pressure, the rippled sand became sandstone. This particular specimen was tilted from the horizontal in a  east/west slope by a crumpling of the earth’s crust. Sometimes there are different beds of sandstone as  can be seen here, which implies an abrupt change in the direction of the shoreline or current. Ripple rock is therefore evidence of an ancient river or lake.

There are various examples on the farm of ripple rock, but this one is the largest one found, only a stone-throw away from the chalets. It has been cleared only partially, and the ripples can be seen  stretching  further underneath the layers of stone and earth, suggesting a much larger solidified sand bed.

The rock units on the farm belong to the Pretoria Group of the Transvaal Sequence. It consists  largely of sedimentary rocks(shale, sandstone, etc.), and chemical sedimentation (i.e. dolomite, chert). On the eastern part of the farm, outcropping rocks consist of quartzitic sandstone and quartzite. Sedimentary textures are still visible in the rocks. From these textures it is possible to determine the direction in which the rivers responsible for the sandstone deposits flowed. The sandstone dips at a shallow angle (5°-10°) towards the west.

Evidence exists of hardened riverbed in the main valley indicating the course of the river. Shallow sand deposits are also found.

Local and regional faults caused displacement of all the rock units. The best one visible is the one just north of the property forming a deep gorge-like topography.

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