The Geology and Geography of Northern Nigeria

Born from expeditions across Northern Nigeria between 1904 and 1909, this pioneering geological study maps a vast and little-known country where rivers, plateaux, and ancient rocks shape both the landscape and the limits of knowledge. It opens with a tribute to difficult fieldwork, the loss of colleague Arthur Longbottom, and the many hands that helped produce its maps, photographs, and fossil evidence. From the Bauchi Plateau's role as a hydrographical center to the Niger's rapids, gorges, and floodplains, the Benue's broad sandy channel, and the Inland Chad system, the book follows water as the chief architect of scenery and movement. Its chapters build a methodical portrait of crystalline basement rocks, intrusive igneous bodies, Cretaceous and Eocene formations, superficial deposits, tectonic change, volcanic activity, and mineral resources. Province by province—Borgu, Kabba, Muri, Yola, Bauchi, Bornu, Ilorin, and beyond—it reveals sandstone plateaux, granite inselbergs, marshy plains, volcanic hills, and eroded escarpments. Rich with maps and plates, this is both a scientific record and an ambitious attempt to explain Northern Nigeria's deep geological history. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.