496 PROFESSOR J. W. GREGORY. 



in Mossamedes, but his valuable notes and sections were not published until 1889. 

 Meanwhile, the existence of gneiss, schist, gypsum beds, limestones, volcanic rocks, 

 and copper ores on the Benguella coast-land was announced by Monteiro (1875, 

 vol. i, pp. 145, 177, 189, 192, 197, 283 ; vol. ii, pp. 65, 70, 91, 152, 177, 196, 199, 219, 

 etc.), a mining engineer who was for many years engaged at the copper mines ; his 

 work also dealt mainly with Loanda. Lovett Cameron, who crossed the whole 

 width of the Benguella plateau, showed (1877, vol. ii, pp. 231, 236, 254, etc.) the 

 widespread distribution of granite in the interior, the presence of red sandstones on 

 the plateau at Bihe (ibid., p. 317), and of limestones containing ammonites on the 

 coast near Catumbella (ibid., p. 261). 



Major Serpa Pinto (1881, vol. i, pp. 218-219) referred to the existence of lime- 

 stone at Dombe Grande, 30 miles south-east of the city of Benguella, and of 

 granite at nine scattered localities on the plateau to the east (ibid., pp. 54, 55, 72, 

 73, 85, 87, 121, 219, 22l). Capello and Ivens (1882, vol. i, pp. 32, 43, 81, 217, etc.) 

 recorded many exposures of granite, gneiss, and schist on the Benguella plateau. 

 Jose d'Anchieta (1885), a Portuguese zoologist, briefly described the geology of the 

 neighbourhood of Benguella, and referred to the gneisses and schists of the interior 

 and to the Cretaceous beds of the coast; and as* he called the last Quadersandstein, 

 he had recognised their Cenomanian age. 



The first important contributions to the geology of the coastal limestones were 

 issued by Meunier (1887) and by Choffat and de Loriol (1888). Meunier described 

 some Cenomanian cephalopods, as well as some foraminifera from Lobito Bay. The 

 studies of Choffat and de Loriol were based on collections made by L. Malheiro, 

 mainly in the Dombe Grande district, and showed the presence of several Middle and 

 Upper Cretaceous horizons.* In this monograph Choffat summarised what was 

 known regarding the geology of Angola ; most of the information referred to Loanda. 

 He showed the presence of Kainozoic rocks both in Loanda and Mossamedes, and the 

 occurrence of Cretaceous rocks at many localities along the coast ; he recorded, on 

 the identification of Gomes, the presence of nepheline-basalt at Dombe Grande. 



The first important contribution to the petrography of the older rocks of the 

 Benguella plateau was made by J. P. Gomes (1898) on specimens collected by R. P. 

 Leconte between Benguella and Catoco, 250 miles to the east-south-east. Gomes 

 identified granite, biotite-granite, amphibolite, adinole with veins of epidote, mica- 

 schist and other schists, quartzites, diabasic porphyrite, and basic eruptives. 



In 1895 Choffat summarised the geology of Angola and gave a classification of 

 the Cretaceous beds, which range from the Albian to the Senonian. He again reviewed 

 the literature on the country, and described further additions to the Cretaceous fauna 

 in an important memoir in 1905. The widespread distribution of gneiss and granite 

 associated with basalt, quartzite, and diorite in the Bailundo and Huambo districts 

 and of a siliceous limestone at Bailundo was reported by an official mission on the 



* According to Schlomkekoer (1888) the foraminifera indicated a Miocene horizon as well. 



