The Mid-Zambezi-Luangwa Rift and Related Carbonatite Activity

Abstract

The known carbonatite eruptive centres in Northern Rhodesia fall within a linear belt trending N.E.-S.W. the most conspicuous elements of which are the colinear troughs of the mid-Zambezi valley and the Luangwa rift. This lineament is an important and longstanding zone of crustal weakness. Its extensions outside Northern Rhodesia are briefly indicated and its ramifications inside the Territory are examined, particularly in reference to the localization of carbonatite activity around rift intersections.