Correlation of tephra layers from the Western Rift Valley (Uganda) to the Turkana Basin (Ethiopia/Kenya) and the Gulf of Aden

Four volcanic ashes have been mapped in Albertine Group strata (Warwire, Kaiso Village and Nyabusosi Formations) Western Rift Valley, Uganda. Three of these tuffs have geochemical fingerprints similar to tuffs in the Turkana Basin (Ethiopia, Kenya), in Afar (Ethiopia) and the Gulf of Aden, permitting correlation between sequences. Radioisotopic ages can be inferred for the faunas from the Albert Basin, including two of Gautier's Molluscan Associations which are the basis for fine scale biostratigraphic correlations between scattered outcrops of sediments within the Albert and Edward Basins in both the Uganda and Zaire sectors of the Western Rift Valley. The age of the Warwire Tuff, the Kyampanga Tuff and the Kagusa Tuff can be estimated at 3.6, 3.4 and 1.5 Ma.