Is it legal to collect at Barberton: Makhonjwa Geotrail, oldest rocks on Earth?

Restricted. World Heritage property: no hammering or removing rock at geotrail stops; the drive itself is free on a public road (R40 toward the Bulembu border)

What can you find at Barberton: Makhonjwa Geotrail, oldest rocks on Earth?

eyes-only: pillow lavas, banded chert, komatiite textures, some of the oldest traces of life on Earth at interpreted stops

Explore / Africa / South Africa

South Africa, Mpumalanga

Barberton

Makhonjwa Geotrail, oldest rocks on Earth

Mineral locality Documented siteRestricted

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What you could find

Reported finds from this ground.

Agates and jasper

Also reported: eyes-only: pillow lavas, komatiite textures, some of the oldest traces of life on Earth at interpreted stops.

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Teerui (Public domain).

Why this spot

Rockhounding locality: the Barberton Greenstone Belt exposes 3.6 to 3.25 billion year old volcanic and sedimentary rocks, UNESCO-listed in 2018, with a self-drive geotrail of interpreted roadside stops

UNESCO listing (113,137 ha, criterion viii) confirms 'geosites are easy to access by the visiting public' and references the Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail