THE GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY
OF NORTHERN NIGERIA
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MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
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PLATE XVII
[Illustration: INSELBERGE LANDSCAPE AROUND ABUJA.]
[Illustration: INSELBERGE LANDSCAPE IN NORTHERN YOLA.
[_Frontispiece_.]
THE
GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY
OF
NORTHERN NIGERIA
BY
J. D. FALCONER, M.A., D.SC.
F.G.S., F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S.
_With Notes by the late_
ARTHUR LONGBOTTOM, B.A., F.G.S.,
_and an Appendix on the Palæontology of the Cretaceous Deposits, by_
HENRY WOODS, M.A., F.G.S.
_University Lecturer in Palæozoology, Cambridge_
WITH FIVE MAPS AND TWENTY-FOUR PLATES
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON
1911
RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED
BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND
BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
TO
MY OLD TEACHER AND FRIEND
PROFESSOR JAMES GEIKIE
PREFACE
The observations upon which these outlines of the Geology and Geography
of Northern Nigeria are based, were made in the course of the operations
of the Mineral Survey of the Protectorate of which I had the honour to
be the principal officer. The Survey was instituted by the Colonial
Office in 1904 upon the recommendation of Professor Wyndham R. Dunstan,
under whose general direction the work of investigation was carried out
both in Nigeria and in the laboratories of the Imperial Institute. From
1904 to 1909 five expeditions in all were made to Northern Nigeria, in
the course of which every province of the Protectorate was visited in
turn. On the first two expeditions I was accompanied by Mr. Douglas R.
Home, F.R.G.S., and on the remaining three by Mr. Arthur Longbottom,
B.A., F.G.S. On an average seven months of each year were devoted to the
actual field work, but the great extent of territory to be investigated,
coupled with the difficulties of transport, rendered it impossible to do
more in the time available than make a series of cross traverses through
the various provinces with the object of ascertaining in a general way
their geological structure and mineral resources.
In the following pages I have attempted to correlate the various
observations which were made in the course of our travels and to weave a
more or less consecutive story out of the disconnected contents of our
notebooks. I am myself, however, only too conscious that many of my
deductions may have been drawn from insufficient data and that further
knowledge may overturn many of my hypotheses. In a new land someone must
do the pioneering, and I shall be amply satisfied if my work affords
some foundation, however insecure, for the investigations of future
workers.
It is with the deepest regret that I have to record the death of my
friend and former colleague, Mr. Arthur Longbottom, since this work went
to press. He died of dysentery, after much suffering, in November, 1910,
at Naraguta, on the Bauchi plateau in Northern Nigeria, whither he had
returned on a tour of inspection on behalf of a private syndicate. We
had hoped that he would be able to continue the work which we had begun
together and that he would return to England with a fresh store of
observations which would increase our scanty knowledge of the geology
and geography of the Protectorate. His extensive experience in various
parts of Northern Nigeria would have rendered those observations of the
greatest value, but his untimely death has put an end not only to a most
promising career but to all hope of any further immediate advance in our
knowledge of the structure of this outlying portion of the Empire.
Before he left England Mr. Longbottom contributed all the paragraphs and
sections throughout the book marked with his initials (A. L.). He also
supplied the photographs from which have been prepared Plates I, II, VI,
VII, VIII, Fig. 1, and XVI. For Plate VIII, Fig. 2, I am indebted to the
Public Works Department of Northern Nigeria. Mr. Woods has kindly
contributed the Appendix on the Cretaceous Mollusca and the note upon
the Eocene fossils on p. 165.
I gratefully acknowledge a Grant towards the cost of publication of this
work from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. I am
especially indebted to Sir Archibald Geikie for help and encouragement
in the matter of publication. My acknowledgments are due also to various
friends for assistance and advice, and more particularly to Professor
James Geikie, Professor Wyndham R. Dunstan, Professor Knight, Dr. Horne,
and Dr. Flett.
J. D. FALCONER.
JANUARY, 1911.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 1
Introduction 1
Hydrographical Systems 3
The Niger 4
The Benue 10
The Niger Provinces:—Kabba, Ilorin, Borgu, Kontagora, Nupe 16
The Benue Provinces:—Bassa, Nassarawa, Muri, Yola 25
The Central Provinces:—Zaria, Bauchi 35
The Northern Provinces:—Bornu, Kano, Sokoto 50