CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.0. Background to study
Lithofacies is defined as sub divisions of a sedimentary sequence based on lithology, grain size;

physical and biogenic sedimentary structures and stratification that bears a direct relationship to the

depositional process that produced them. Lithofacies are the basic unit for the interpretation of

depositional environment. Kombe is one of the villages in the Northern part of the Douala Sedimentary

Basin. It is found in the Nkapa Formation of the Douala Sedimentary Basin in Cameroon.

The earliest study of the Douala Sedimentary Basin of the geology of Cameroon began in the late 1800s

Belmont (1966) and were basically preliminary investigations. The history of the Douala Basin began in

the Lower Cretaceous with a break marking the separation of the South America and Africa plates. The

infilling of the basin began during this initial rift phase with the stacking of the first deposit of the

Lower Mundeck Formation. The geological studies like stratigraphical studies, Paleogeographical

studies and palynological studies of the said basin has been the subject of research of several researhers

like Agyingi et al., Nguene et al., Tamful et al., Ntamak-Nida et al., Giresse, Lawrence et al., Batupe,

Regnoult, SNH, Dumort, Houcy, Reyre, Belmonte, Njike Ngaha, Robertson, Reyment, Kenfack et al.,

Brownfield and Charpentier (indicate the years these authors published the papers). There is need for a

proper investigation of these geological studies especially in the northern part of the basin to add to the

works of these researchers. Lithofacies of the Wouri Formation is suggestive of fluviatile environments

of deposition.

Cameroon’s geologic history dates back to the Archaean era between 3.5 and 2.5 billion years ago
(Dumort, 1968). Its development is characterized by three orogenic cycles that resulted in the
formation of the Ntem complex during the Archaean (2.5 billion years old), the Nyong which dates
from the Proterozoic (2.5–1.8 billion years old) and the Pan African cycle composed of Formations
from the Neoproterozoic era (1–600 Ma; Dumort, 1968). The geology of Cameroon is further
subdivided into five geotectonic units (Vicat, 1998) that comprise the Craton (south from Congo)
made up mostly of metamorphic rocks (gneiss, charnokites, granodiorites); the craton cover (eastern
part of Cameroon) made up of sandstones, arkoses, shales and pillow lavas and the Pan African
 chain (which covers the majority of the country) compose of metamorphic and volcanic rocks. Two
main periods characterize the history of Cameroon geology:

(i) Palaeozoic (northern part of Cameroon) characterized by volcano-detrital deposits overlying the
Pan African.

(ii) The Cretaceous composed of Flavio-lacustrine deposits and the coastal sedimentary Basins
(Vicat, 1998; Kwankam et al., 2016).

The sedimentary basins in Cameroon are both coastal and continental and they include the
following; the Douala/Kribi-Campo basin which is in its turn subdivided into two sub-basins: the
Kribi-Campo sub-basin in the south and the Douala sub-basin which is the northern component, the
Mamfe basin, Garoua basin, Benue basin, Tchad basin, Mbere/ Djerem basin, Rio Del Rey basin.
The two major basins are the Douala-Kribi/Campo basin and the Rio Del Rey basin which are
coastal basins (Figure 1).

In the study area (Kompina), the major sediment outcrop belt of the N’kapa Formation is along
River Bongoue and its tributaries. The nature of the rocks, fossil diversity and content have been
analysed in N’kapa formation in order to infer sedimentary depositional environments. Few existing
studies have focused on surface sediments in the N’kapa Formation within the Douala Basin (Loule
et al., 1997; Agyingi et al., 2006a, b).

Following the previous studies carryout in N’kapa formation within the Douala basin by authors
such as (F. N. Kwankam et al., 2016), this field work was aim at contributing to the lithology and
distribution of different rock types using litho logging technique and coming up with geologic map.

1.1. Location of Study Area

Administratively Kompina is located in the Bonalea subdivision, Mungo division, Littoral Region of
Cameroon along the Douala-Bafoussam highway (Figure 1.2).

Geographically Kompina is located between N04o22’34” and E09o35’5”. It has neighbouring towns
such as Njombe, Mbanga, Maleke, and Souza Gare. The various locations visited were easily accessible
by main roads, minor roads, bush tracks and footpaths by main roads, minor roads, bush tracks and
footpaths.
Figure 1.2: Location map of Kompina;

1.2. Accessibility
The Basin is mainly accessible by road from Bamenda through the National Road Number

5. Also the road runs internationally from Nigeria through Bamenda to Buea. The major

towns in the area are connected by roads which are well accessed especially during the dry

season. These roads are muddy during the rainy season and dusty in the dry season. All the

quarters within the study area are interconnected by secondary roads. There also exist

secondary roads and geotrails used by villagers to most of their residences and farms. In

the course of the field work, foot paths and geotrails were used while some outcrops could

only be clearly observed when the bushes were opened with the help of a machete. The

Basin can also be accessed by air that is through the Douala International Airport.
1.2. Problem Statement
Preliminary investigations about the geology of Cameroon began in the late 1800s Belmont

(1966). Previous studies on both the subsurface and outcrop geology have been carried out

by Serepca, ministry of mines and scientific research. These studies have been limited

more to areas of west of the Mungo. Several authors like; Reyment (1954), Njike (1984),

Bang (1999) and Eghombi (1999) have addressed aspects such as sedimentology,

petrography, lithostratigraphy and stratigraphy of the Cretaceous and Tertiary in the

Western part of the Douala Basin. This study seeks to extend to the northern part of the

basin. Sedimentary rocks within the Kompina area have been studied but less is known

about these rocks. The lithofacies and geochemistry of the rocks also need to be

investigated. Therefore this was undertaken in the Northern Douala Basin so as to better

understand the lithofacies characteristics which may have a link with their geochemistry

and also to delineate the depositional environment of the sediments. The geologic history

of the region thus needs to be fully examined based on litho-relationship in the field.

1.3. Main Objective

 The main objective of this work is to determine the lithofacies and geochemistry of

rocks in Kompina

1.3.1. Specific Objectives

The specific objectives are:

 To investigate the lithological characteristics of rocks in the area

 To investigate the geochemistry of rocks in the area

  To determine the environment of deposition of the rock units

1.4. Climate, Soil and Vegetation

Climate

The climate is classified as tropical (that is a hot humid climate). It has a savannah with dry
winter climate and a short dry season. It has significant rainfall most months; the summers
are much rainier than the winter. March is the hottest month of the year and August is the
coldest month of the year.

Vegetation

The vegetation of Kompina is characterized by a tropical evergreen forest and it’s

moderately dense. The vegetation is dominated by rubber and palm fruits which are
planted by Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). The forest did not reinstall
quickly, due to the lithology in the region rather than climatic conditions that are
favourable on the contrary to the green forest. Some of the things which are found in the
forest are palm trees, tall trees with thick canopies, based ferns, shrubs, rubbers and grasses
which provide protection to the soil.

SOIL

The study area has a mixture of sandy and clay soils which are very rich in humus, brought
about by the rapid decomposition (physical, chemical and biological weathering of
sedimentary rocks and even organic materials) of litter and debris, enhanced by the rainy
and the dry season. Also, there is the presence of lateritic soils. The soil in the study area is
thus ferralitic in nature and very fertile (rich in mineral content). Three types of soil can be
distinguished with respect to the degree of weathering;

• Recent soils: these are andosols dominated by allophones. These soils are
characterized by a high Porosity, a light silty texture, a ragile granular structure and an
important stone.
• Halloysites: these soils have a silty-clay texture with a stable granular texture.
• Highly Weathered Soils: these soils are dominated by halloysites and. Kaolinite:
They are thus soils with high clay content.

1.5. Relief and Hydrogeology

RELIEF

The relief or topography is generally level while some areas are undulating with even small
hills that can be spotted around, though very few in numbers. The topography of this area
has been affected through human activities by their quest for different economic
opportunities and so has introduced landscape modifications extensively. Most of the
population has settled in level lands while the hilly sites are used for farmlands.

DRAINAGE

The study area is characterised by a dentritic drainage pattern (drainage pattern that
resembles the arrangement of veins on a leaf). The area consists of numerous streams with
a main and several minor streams which forms tributaries with the main stream as they
flow into the stream. The sector is drained towards the West by tributaries left of the
Moungo but the watershed with the Wouri that follows approximately the railway line
borders the sector to the East. The eastern and especially the northern parts of the sector are
less affected by the hydrographic network with large patches of low or no slope often
cleared but the external drainage remains correct. These rivers includes; Bongue, Kesso,
Lengue, Njim Njim River.

1.6. Human Settlement and Activities

The main economic activity in the locality is agriculture. Agriculture is very intense.
Most of the population is made up of farmers who cultivate different crops like palm
fruits, rubber, cocoyam, plantains, banana, and corn. Palm fruits harvested from the
area are used in production of palm oils. Most of the foodstuffs and the palm oil
produced are sold to business people who buy and sell the products to neighbouring
places like Souza, Maleke and towns like Douala. Apart from agriculture, there are
numerous other activities which are carried out they include; off-licenses, provision
stores, commercial bike riding, builders, auto mechanics, tailoring and teaching.