Geological Map and Stratigraphy of the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift

A geological map and cross-section covering approximately 45 million years of rift evolution from the Eocene to the present. The dataset documents the tectonomagmatic history of the northern sector of the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift, including pre-rift flood basalts, early-rift faulting, and late-rift bimodal volcanism. It was created by Štěpán Dvořák and published on figshare in 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatial distribution of rock units like flood basalts, trachybasalts, and rhyolite-trachyte flows to model volcanic history.
• Correlate fault structures and cross-sections with phases of rift evolution (pre-rift, early-rift, late-rift) for tectonic analysis.
• Study the temporal sequence of lithologies, such as tholeiitic to alkaline basalts transitioning to felsic pyroclastic deposits, for stratigraphic column construction.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range of approximately 45 million years of geological history.
• Includes a detailed cross-section through the rift valley to illustrate subsurface structure.
• Documents multiple distinct phases of rift evolution with specific rock type classifications.

Limitations

• Dataset size is 56.0 MB, indicating a relatively small-scale map and document collection without extensive underlying numerical data.
• Primary data formats are DOCX and PDF, limiting direct computational analysis without significant manual extraction.
• No row/column or sample data is provided, restricting understanding of the underlying data structure.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Štěpán Dvořák.

Collection Method

Field mapping and geological interpretation, resulting in a new geological map and cross-section.

Time Range

Approximately 45 Ma (Eocene) to the present (Holocene).

Freshness

Last updated in April 2026, indicating recent publication.

Geography

Northern sector of the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift, East African Rift System.