Benue Trough the Central African Shear Zone and for the volcanic island of St. Helena in the Atlantic ocean. Three periods of magmatic activity (volcanic action) have been identified, 147–106 Ma, 97–81 Ma and 68–49 Ma. The first is prominent in the north of the trough, and contemporary with magmatism in Brazil, probably occurring during a period of crustal extension before the Atlantic started to open. The second is found only in the south of the trough, and may belong to a period when the extension of the Atlantic had slowed down, ending with a period of compression. The third and last
Benue Trough under oxygen-deficient bottom conditions. In the Upper Cretaceous, the Benue Trough probably formed the main link between the Gulf of Guinea and the Tethys Ocean (predecessor of the Mediterranean Sea) via the Chad and Iullemmeden Basins. Towards the end of this period the basin rose above sea level, and extensive coal forming swamps developed, particularly in the Anambra Basin. The trough is estimated to contain 5,000 m of Cretaceous sediments and volcanic rocks. A common explanation of the trough's formation is that it is an aulacogen, an abandoned arm of a three-armed radial rift system. The other two arms continued