Outcrops along Barra da Dande.

Outcrops along Barra da Dande.

UPDATE: Please note this trip is now full. On Sunday, January 27, join the Angola Field Group for a geological field trip to Bengo province led by geologist Tako Koning, departing Luanda at 7:00 AM and returning around 5:00 PM. Scroll down for a map with locations.

We will drive north from Luanda to Barra do Dande  to see outcrops consisting of Cretaceous-age fossiliferous, marine sedimentary rocks. These strata are interesting from a paleo-environmental standpoint of view and they are also of economic significance since they are  the cap rocks to the  reservoirs which produce oil in the shallow water areas offshore Soyo and Cabinda.

We will continue for 10 km northeast on the road to the Lifune River where we will examine some historically well known naturally-occurring oil seeps in Libongos, today an asphalt quarry. Records indicate that as early as 1820, the Portuguese shipped out barrels of asphalt probably from the Libongos seeps to Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro to use as calking to prevent leakage of ships. If time allows, we will visit a second asphalt quarry as we loop south to Caxito. The entire area we will be traversing is known as the Kwanza Sedimentary Basin.

Close up photo taken at the Libongos oil seeps.

Close up photo taken at the Libongos oil seeps.


We will then travel south to Caxito to the nearby water falls at Sassa to view ancient (2 billion-year-old) Precambrian granite outcrops and where we will have a late lunch (you pack your own lunch). If time permits, we will visit the nearby Mabubas Hydroelectric Dam, recently rehabilitated.

Angola Field Group members walking along the Mabubas Dam in Caxito before it was rehabilitated. Angola Field Group members walking along the Mabubas Dam in Caxito before it was rehabilitated.

Angola Field Group members walking along the Mabubas Dam in Caxito before it was rehabilitated.

This field trip will also stop at Pangila Bridge to review some of the historical events which occurred here including the famous Quifangondo battle of November 10, 1975 which secured MPLA as the reigning party in Luanda, just prior to Angola achieving independence on November 11, 1975.

Our meeting point and further details will be provided once you have signed up and are confirmed for the trip. Sign up by emailing:angolafieldgroup@gmail.com and state: 1)your cell phone number  2)names of participants  3)do you require transport? or do you have room for passenger/s and if so how many?  4) are you travelling from Luanda Sul or downtown Luanda. Foreigners must have passport with valid visa.

All field trips with the Angola Field Group are at your own risk. Sign up as soon as possible since there is a limit to the number of participants we can take.

Click on map to enlarge.

Click on map to enlarge. Map by Tako Koning.