INTRODUCTION 15 



ones, which are such striking features in the south 

 of the Colony. In addition to the Cape formation, the 

 lower parts of the Karroo system, the Dwyka and Ecca 

 series are involved in the folding, and this fact has great 

 significance in that it proves that the folding took place 

 chiefly after the deposition of the Ecca series. The 

 later limit of the period during which the folds were 

 produced is fixed by the presence of considerable areas 

 of comparatively undisturbed beds belonging to the 

 Uitenhage series lying upon the upturned edges of the 

 folded rocks belonging to all ages from Pre-Cape to Ecca. 



The Cape Peninsula and the district north of it, 

 where the Table Mountain series lies nearly flat, are on 

 the outer side of the curved folded belt, and on the inner 

 side, towards which the folded strata have moved, lies 

 the Great Karroo. In the extreme south of the Colony 

 there is an area of slightly disturbed sandstone of the 

 Table Mountain series between Danger Point and Nor- 

 thumberland Point. It is very probable that the folds 

 which form the southern mountains are restricted to a 

 curved belt now cut through by the coast, and that on 

 the ocean side of it there is a large region unaffected by 

 the folds ; but by far the greater part of this region is 

 hidden by the sea, and the only remnants open to ob- 

 servation are the west coast belt south of Olifant's River 

 and the strip near Cape Agulhas. 



At its broadest part the folded belt is about 100 miles 

 wide, from the south-western corner of the Karroo to 

 Cape Agulhas, and its length along the bend is some 600 

 miles. The most marked character of the region is the 

 presence of many mountain ranges, which are mostly 



