First observations of sea-level indicators related to glacial maxima at Sodwana Bay, northern kwaZulu-Natal.

RECENT OBSERVATIONS MADE FROM THE submersible Jago have shed new light on palaeo-sea levels found off the continental margins of southeastern Africa. The discovery of deep-water caves within the northern KwaZulu-Natal submarine canyon system, and their corresponding intertidal erosional features, indicates three deeper than present sea levels at depths of 106 m, 124 m and 130 m. A clast-supported, cobble conglomerate is associated with caves of 124 m depth. This is interpreted as a beach deposit that formed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) at 18 BP. This is the first evidence of the LGM for the east coast, and suggests tectonic stability throughout southern Africa since that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]