Table of Contents

1 The geological settingl.- 1.1 The African continent.- 1.2 The major subdivisions of geological time.- 1.3 The structural framework of Africa.- 1.4 The global context.- 1.5 Age provinces and mineral deposits.- 1.6 The geological framework of West Africa.- 1.7 Problems of regional treatment and correlation.- I The Precambrian of West Africa.- 2 Crustal development in West Africa.- 3 The Archaean of West Africa.- 4 The Proterozoic of West Africa.- 5 The Pan African of West Africa — the western domain.- 6 The Pan African of West Africa — the eastern domain.- 7 The Precambrian of West Africa — synthesis and review.- II Sedimentary Basins in West Africa.- 8 Introduction to sedimentary basins.- 9 Infracambrian to Lower Palaeozoic basins.- 10 Mesozoic to Tertiary basins — inland basins.- 11 The Benue Trough and coastal basins.- 12 Economic potential of the younger sedimentary basins.- III Mesozoic to Cenozoic Igneous Activity in West Africa.- 13 Introduction to anorogenic magmatism.- 14 The Permo-Triassic dolentes and carbonatites.- 15 The Younger Granites.- 16 Cretaceous and Cenozoic magmatism.- IV The Quaternary of West Africa.- 17 Introduction: earthquakes, volcanoes and meteorites.- 18 Geomorphology, Quaternary deposits and water resources.- Index of place names.