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Cows and people hanging out on the bridge over the Komati River. |
| Picture by Liz Johnson |
|
Jenny and James in foreground at the Komati River. One of the type locations
for Komatiites, super-hot magmas. |
| Picture by J. L. Kirschvink |
|
Secondary vein mineralization at the boundary between two of Earth's
oldest and least metamorphosed Komatiite flows! Yummie stuff for
Astrobiologists to chew on ..... |
| Picture by J. L. Kirschvink |
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Could the slime crawling over this rock 3.5 billion years ago have
contained some of our distant Ancestors???? |
| Picture by J. L. Kirschvink |
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Ben Weiss gives the group a talk on the geology of the spinifex creek locale. |
| Picture by J. L. Kirschvink |
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Spinifex creek also became our lunch spot for the day. |
| Picture by J. L. Kirschvink |
|
You may have noticed we all have out pants tucked in our socks on these
hikes (Shane in this shot). Its not the new fashion trend in South Africa,
but it is a good way of avoiding tick fever. |
| Picture by Gilead Wurman |
|
This is a komatiite, a high-Mg basalt which was erupted about
3.5 Ga ago. It was hotter than a normal basalt and was only about as viscous as water.
The long, thin crystals were probably originally olivine or pyroxene, even though these
minerals usually have equant or stubby shapes. The texture the needle-like minerals
make is called spinifex texture. |
| Picture by Liz Johnson |
|
On returning from our hike to Spinifex Creek, the local children came to meet us. Tim started
to play soccer with them, but the children quickly had their own idea about what game to play... |
| Picture by J. L. Kirschvink |
|
... keep away from Tim, well not exactly. |
| Picture by J. L. Kirschvink |
|
Tim Raub plays 'Korfball' (a dutch game similar to ultimate frisbee)
with kids from a village near Spinifex Creek. |
| Picture by Liz Johnson |
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The children were not only interested in playing ball. They were also fascinated by our
cameras, notebooks and pens. |
| Picture by Gilead Wurman |
|
In search of the perfect granite, the group takes a break on an outcrop in the Barberton
Greenstone Belt. |
| Picture by laura Croal |
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From the Steynsdorp Pluton, Shane Byrne and Antonin Bouchez look out
over the Komati Formation exposed on mountains near the border between South
Africa and Swaziland. |
| Picture by Liz Johnson |
|
Some of the vans took a slight detour on the way back to Baadplaas, via the Swaziland
Border. |
| Picture by Laura Croal |
Day 5