The Geologic Oddity in Namibia; Brukkaros Mountain

What you are looking at is a massive circular feature within Namibia. Known as Brukkaros Mountain, it is neither a volcanic caldera or an impact crater. Instead, it is something completely different, forming due to a series of geologic events 77 million years ago. This video will discuss this spectacular feature and describe how it formed in a tale which involves carbonatites.

Thumbnail Photo Credit: Google Earth, Image © 2023 Airbus. This image was then overlaid with text, and then overlaid with GeologyHub made graphics (the image border and the GeologyHub logo).

Author's note: Although I have no direct proof that the carbonatites which formed Brukkaros Mountain are rare earth element enriched, I suggest that a portion of them might be. Simply put, this complex looks unusually similar to certain rare earth element deposit localities I have familiarized myself with some aspects of, with aspects of the carbonatites surrounding Brukkaros Mountain looking somewhat similar to the Petyayan Vara carbonatite (rare earth element deposit) in Russia. I suspect that rare earth elements might be found around Brukkaros Mountain if additional studies are performed, emphasizing carbonatite dikes adjacent to barite deposits. For now, no rare earth elements are confirmed at Brukkaros Mountain and its surrounding dikes, as only niobium rich brookite has been found, and niobium is not a rare earth element.

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Sources/Citations:
[1] Lorenz, V., Stachel, T., & Kurszlaukis, S. (2000). Volcanology of the Gross Brukkaros Field, southern Namibia.
[2] Walter, Benjamin & Giebel, R. Johannes & Siegfried, Pete & Gudelius, Dominik & Kolb, Jochen. (2023). The eruption interface between carbonatitic dykes and diatremes – The Gross Brukkaros volcanic field Namibia. Chemical Geology. 621. 121344. 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2023.121344.
[3] Schneider, G. (2004). The roadside geology of Namibia. https://www.amazon.com/The-Roadside-G...
[4] Lorenz, Volker et al. “Volcanology of the Gross Brukkaros Field, southern Namibia.” (2000).

0:00 A Geologic Oddity
1:20 Rare Earth Elements
2:28 Carbonatite Dikes
3:16 Carbonatite Formation
3:51 Tuff Ring Formation
4:34 Conclusion