Problems Connected with the Origin and Evolution of the Benue Trough, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

There are large areas of Nigeria and probably of West Africa

that have never been visited or studied by a geologist or

geophysicist. Not so in the region surrounding the Benue

Trough. This area has repeatedly attracted a lot of attention

in the past, and with the advent of plate tectonics the available

geological and geophysical data from the region have

been interpreted in various ways to suit different tectonic

models. No attempt is made here to review the relevant

published work on the geology and geophysics of the Benue

Trough. Rather it is intended - by the formulation of

several questions related to existing ideas and plate tectonic

models for the region - to illuminate the required areas of

research and investigation most necessary towards a better

understanding of the evolution and origin of the trough and

its environs.