A report on the geological mapping project carried out in igayaza, Isingiro district, south western uganda from 30/01/2022 to 08/02/2022

Abstract

This geologic mapping exercise was carried out in Igayaza, Isingiro district in south western part of Uganda. The area mapped is within the Karagwe Ankolean system of rocks which stratigraphically overly the Basement complex rocks. The Karagwe-Ankolean (K-A) system (1400-950Ma) in Uganda is the northern most extension of the Kibaran mobile belt. The sediments of this system occupy a continuous area in southern and central Kabale, southern Mbarara, Bushenyi, Isingiro, Rakai and south eastern Masaka districts, the Buhweju plateau as well as the surrounding hills in Bushenyi district. The area is generally characterized by a hilly topography with intervening narrow and broad low-lying areas which could have evolved due to differential weathering. It is also characterized by parallel and dendritic drainage and savannah vegetation. Settlement in the area is generally linear. Relief in the area is generally high making it generally difficult to access. Land use is dominantly agriculture and quarrying stone for construction material. The area to be mapped was gridded and we exclusively mapped area L. Therefore, this report contains majorly data obtained within this region which includes the rock types, structures present, economic potential, stratigraphy, metamorphism of the area as well as the regional synthesis using the data obtained by other groups as well. The major geologic structures encountered in the area are bedding and joints/fractures and the minor structures included faults, folds, boudins and laminations. In the entire area, Beds dip to the SE and NW with low dips at the axis of the Gayaza syncline and steeply away from the axis of the syncline. In area L the preferred orientation of the beds is 0680, 58SE. The joints show two preferred trends in the NW-SE and NE-SW in the entire area corresponding to the regional and cross fold trends of the area and moderate to steeply dipping. Folding in the area occurred earlier than faulting and other structures.