Seismicity and neotectonic uplift in the Augrabies Falls National Park, Namaqualand, Northern Cape, South Africa

Gneissic rocks in the Augrabies Falls National Park are part of the Proterozoic Namaqua-Natal mobile belt. Finding neotectonic evidence in old terranes is always not an easy task. In South Africa, the mid-Miocene is believed to be the beginning of neotectonics. This study investigated the occurrence and recurrence of earthquake activity, occurrence of faulting, jointing, uplift, and potholes in the gneisses cropping out around the Augrabies Falls area that may account for neotectonics. A historic seismic event obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and seismic epicenters downloaded in October 2015 from IRIS earthquake browser and overlaid on a satellite image with digitised faults and lineaments, indicates that the area is seismically active and is a zone of seismic risk. Potholes occurring today on a dry surface at approximately 613 m above sea level are a direct consequence of the Griqualand-Transvaal neotectonic uplift, which generated a major fault along which water flows continuously. It is concluded that the Augrabies Falls National Park area is a zone of neotectonics. This zone should not be considered for the storage of nuclear wastes.