Teekloof Formation, Geological formation in Western Cape, South Africa.
Teekloof Formation is a geological layer in Western Cape that displays reddish and green mudstone with embedded sandstone channels running through it. The rock sequence shows patterns where grain size gradually decreases upward, which geologists use to understand ancient water flow and depositional environments.
This layer formed during the Late Permian period roughly 265 to 255 million years ago. It represents an important section of the Karoo Supergroup and records a significant span of the region's geological history.
Scientists and researchers gather at the Teekloof Formation to study the preserved remains of ancient therapsids, including fossils of Bradysaurus and Diictodon species.
The formation stretches from Sutherland across mountain ranges between Fraserburg and Beaufort West, with northern exposures near Loxton and Victoria West. Visitors will find these rocks in a semi-arid highland landscape with open terrain.
Embedded in the mudstone are fossil gypsum crystals and lime nodules that point to ancient shallow lake systems. These traces show the region once hosted temporary water bodies that left behind distinctive mineral formations as they dried.
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