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Periglacial landforms at Giant'S Castle, Natal Drakensberg, South Africa
Author(s) -
Boelhouwers Jan C.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
permafrost and periglacial processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-1530
pISSN - 1045-6740
DOI - 10.1002/ppp.3430050302
Subject(s) - geology , landform , frost (temperature) , solifluction , permafrost , geomorphology , frost weathering , geochemistry , soil water , oceanography , soil science , glacial period
Active and inactive periglacial landforms are described for a small, south‐facing mountain catchment at Giant's Castle, 3140–3300 m A.S.L. Natal Drakensberg, South Africa. Micro‐patterned ground is found at the water divide and indicates marginal present‐day frost activity with soil frost penetration to a depth of 0.1–0.2 m. Downslope, thin stone‐banked sheets migrate over larger, inactive, stone‐banked lobe complexes. Block fields, suggested to be of a gelifluction origin, occupy the central part of the valley and gelifluction sheets cover the lower valley slopes. All are inactive. The range of inactive periglacial slope deposits suggests the presence of severe seasonal frost in the past.