The Regional Geoscience Division is responsible for conducting geological mapping and the production of geological/ geophysical map data, which are available both in digital and hardcopy format. Details of available maps and digital data are given in the downloadable catalogue.

The Regional Geoscience Division has three subdivisions:

Tectonics, which deals with the structurally deformed and metamorphosed Proterozoic geology

Stratigraphy, which deals with the largely undeformed Phanerozoic geology

GIS & Remote Sensing, whose task it is to convert field and archival map data into digital format, assess and compile information from various sources to produce digital maps, and employ such remote sensing techniques as are available to improve existing field data.

However, final implementation of this structure awaits the funding and filling of additional posts; at present many of the above tasks are shared among the subdivisions.

Geological maps and data available

The 1:1 000 000 Geological Map of Namibia, which was first published in 1965 and edited in 1980, covers the entire country, while the compilation of 1:250 000 scale maps is still ongoing. At present twenty-five out of forty-four 250k maps are completed, of which eight have been printed and the remainder are available as provisional colour plots under the open file system. Click here for a Summary of the Namibian Geology. A simplified geological map of Namibia is available here.

For the compilation of the 250k geological map series 50k and 100k base maps were used, as well as reconnaissance maps, where no detailed mapping was available. Thus, the resolution of these maps varies considerably, as only some 40% of the country’s outcrop area (ca. 50% of the surface area) have been mapped at 50k scale. Larger scale maps (from 2k to 50k ) have been produced within the framework of university research and mineral exploration and are stored in the archive of the National Earth Science and Energy Information Centre or digitally in the Earth Data Namibia Database.

The activities of the Regional Geoscience Division are divided between new field mapping, mostly in structurally complex terrains, and the digitization and compilation of archival maps. Current projects are discussed within the Tectonics and Stratigraphy Subdivisions, respectively. All data are captured and stored using ArcInfo GIS software, and contribute to building up a national geological database. Apart from the map database, a geochronological database containing some 1200 age determinations from Namibian material has been compiled. This database is based on ARCVIEW 3.x software, and apart from sample locations and results, contains information about data source, techniques used and relevant illustrations linked as image files.

1) Map of the Damara Orogen

The 1:500 000 scale map of the Pan-African Damara Orogen, was published as part of a special publication by the Geological Society of South Africa (1983). Digitization of this map is in progress.

2) Hydrogeological Map of Namibia

The Hydrogeological Map of Namibia (Scale 1:1 000 000) was published in 2001. It was compiled as a collaboration project between the Department of Water Affairs (Namibia) and the Geological Survey of Namibia, under the auspices of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Mineral Resources (BGR, Germany), who provided funding as well as expertise in GIS map compilation. The map is accompanied by a booklet, describing the various groundwater domains of the country, source of data and containing other relevant information. The map shown here is a simplified version.

3) The Nama Group of Namibia

A map showing the distribution of the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Nama Group in Namibia, with as much detailed as has been mapped to date, was compiled in connection with IGCP Project 493. This map is unpublished, but 1:500 000 scale color plots are available upon request under the open file system. Due to the extent of the Nama Group the most detailed version (scale 1:250 000) is only available in digital format (ESRI shapefiles, Projection: UTM Zone 33S). The map shown on this site is a simplified version.

4) Metamorphic Map of Namibia

The metamorphic map is based on the 1:1 000 000 geological map of Namibia. Information from various studies was used to determine metamorphic grade and domain, and compiled as a draft map. The map is unpublished, but may be made available upon request.

5) Mesoproterozoic Belts of Namibia

A map showing the Mesoproterozoic Belts of Namibia (Namaqua Belt, Rehoboth Inlier, Sinclair Sequence and equivalents) was produced for a combined field workshop of IGCP Projects 418 and 440 in 2002. The map, which was compiled at scale 1:1 000 000 is unpublished, but color plots are available upon request under the open file system.

International Research Co-operation

The Regional Geoscience division actively participates in the following international research projects, including a number of IGCP (International Geological Correlation Programme) projects:

• Fluviomarine terraces, drainages and sea level changes (University of Aachen , Germany)
• Structural and metamorphic evolution of the lower Ugab and Goantagab zones (University of Mainz, Germany)
• Sm-Nd, U-Pb, Rb-Sr and K-Ar isotope systematics of the Huab Metamorphic Complex (University of Gottingen, Germany)
• Palaeontology, sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary evolution of the Nama Group, southern Namibia (Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia)
• Tectonic evolution of the Hoanib River Valley, Kaoko Belt (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
• Potential of hyperspectral remote sensing for geological mapping and resource evaluation in arid regions (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, USA)
• Sequence stratigraphy and structural analysis of the Otavi Group and the relationship to mineralization (University of Heidelberg, Germany)

IGCP 418 – Evolution of Mesoproterozoic Orogenic Belts of central and south western Africa
IGCP 419 – Foreland basins of the Neoproterozoic Belts of central southern Africa and South America
IGCP 440 – Mesoproterozoic assembly and Neoproterozoic breakup of the Rodina Supercontinent
IGCP 470 – The 600 Ma Pan-African Belt of central Africa: Sedimentation, deformation history, magmatism, metamorphism and geotectonic evolution
IGCP 478 – Neoproterozoic – Early Palaeozoic events in southwest Gondwana: Palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic, palaeobiologic and tectonomagmatic events within the framework of southwest Gondwana
IGCP 493 – Rise and fall of the Vendian biota: Palaeoenvironmental, palaeoclimatic and plate tectonic controls on the preservation and biodiversity of the Vendian biota, with a comparison of Gondwana and northern assemblages
IGCP 509 - Palaeoproterozoic. Supercontinents and Global Evolution

For more detail on geological maps available and information on how to order products click here.