The easterly (Gregory Rift) branch of the East African Rift System reveals spectacular landforms that include iconic escarpments and alkaline lakes. The area is further characterized by abundant, young volcanism, both within the rift and on the eastern platform. The geotourism of some of Africa’s most famous parks and conservation areas - Arusha, Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and the wilderness area around Lake Natron - is unparalleled.

Mount Meru is a free-standing volcano where we will hike at over 8,000 feet in a giant, horseshoe-shaped caldera with its massive ash cone.   Some of the largest known debris avalanche deposits occur on the eastern slopes of this volcano.  The extinct peaks of the Ngorongoro Highlands, which occur within a sub-graben of the rift, include massive calderas and ignimbrites.  An ascent of Oldoinyo Lengai the famous carbonatite reveals cm-thick lava flows within an active crater. The excursion will also include the Archaean rocks of the Tanzania Craton and Oldupai Gorge, the important hominid site, e.g., Homo habilis (1.9-1.6 Ma) and Paranthropus boisei (1.8-1.2 Ma), with sequences of volcanic ash (from the Ngorongoro volcanoes) and clay.

Note: There will be opportunities to add on private trips to visit, for example, primates (gorilla, chimpanzee) in Uganda and Rwanda, or the volcanic areas of southern Kenya.

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Field Trip Leader: Roger Scoon                                                                        
Start/end: Johannesburg, OR Tambo Airport
Date: 10 days, Monday 5th to Wednesday 14th September 2016             
Price: US$5,045p.p.s with US$600 single supplement