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The rhyolitic lava flows of the Lebombos (SE-Africa)

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Abstract

Along the Lebombo monocline acid and basic magmas extruded alternatively as fissure eruptions, to a thickness of approximately 12 km during the time interval from the Triassic/Jurassic boundary to the Cretaceous.

Textural evidence suggests that the rhyolites were emitted as lava flows. The rate of cooling or the grade of crystallization, respectively, produced a series of textural zones. The upper parts of the lava flow-units are intricately flow folded. It is postulated that the Lebombo rhyolites were generated in the upper mantle.

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Wachendorf, H. The rhyolitic lava flows of the Lebombos (SE-Africa). Bull Volcanol 37, 515–529 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596889

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