Palaeomagnetic constraints on the position of the Kalahari craton in Rodinia

A comparison of late Mesoproterozoic palaeomagnetic poles from the Kalahari craton and its correlative Grunehogna craton in East Antarctica shows that the Kalahari-Grunehogna craton straddled the palaeo-Equator and underwent no azimuthal rotation between ca. 1130 and 1105 Ma. Comparison of the Kalahari palaeopoles with the Laurentia APWP between 1130 and 1000 Ma shows that there was a latitudinal separation of 30 +/- 14 degrees between Kalahari and the Llano-West Texas margin of Laurentia at ca. 1105 Ma. The Kalahari craton could have converged with southwestern Laurentia between 1060 and 1030 Ma to become part of Rodinia by 1000 Ma. In Rodinia, the Kalahari craton lay near East Antarctica with the Namaqua-Natal orogenic belt facing outboard and away from the Laurentian craton. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.