The development and environmental significance of the dry valley systems (mekgacha) in the Kalahari, central southern Africa.

The dry valley systems in the Kalahari of southern Africa are traditionally considered to have developed as a result of past fluvial activity. However, it has also been suggested that erosion by groundwater processes (sapping and deep-weathering) had an important role in development. This thesis aims to establish the relative role of each of these process areas in mekgacha evolution using a combined geological and geomorphological approach. The study area is restricted to the valley systems of Botswana, eastern Namibia and the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, which can be subdivided into exorcic and endoreic systems directed towards the Orange River and the continental interior, respectively. Field studies, analyses of remotely-sensed imagery and a consideration of network orientation identify evidence for the role of both fluvial and groundwater processes in valley development. However, whilst both groups of processes have operated, the importance of each is suggested to have varied both spatially and temporally. Fluvial processes are indicated by sequences of sediments, relict channels and terrace levels, and appear to have operated most recently. Sapping processes are implied in the formation of certain valley systems, primarily from morphological properties and the presence of relict spring lines. Deep-weathering processes are implicated from the close parallelism of many valleys with geological structures now buried beneath thicknesses of Kalahari Group sediments. Borehole records also indicate deep-weathering of bedrock beneath valleys developed above fracture zones, which is suggested to have operated over the longest timescales. Thin-section studies of duricrusts from valley flanks, together with duricrust profiles and records from lithological boreholes, indicate the role of groundwater in their formation. Results suggest an intrinsic link between duricrust formation and valley development. Geochemical and thin-section analyses of duricrusts further suggest that previous considerations of the palaeoenvironmental significance of Kalahari silcretes based upon TiO2 levels may not be wholly appropriate.