Abstract
A massive rockslide event occurred in the Soutpansberg Mountains in the Limpopo Province approximately 20,000 years ago that blocked the course of the eastward flowing Mutale River forming Lake Fundudzi which is the only inland lake in South Africa. The landslide occurred in the northward dipping and highly jointed Fundudzi Formation of the Soutpansberg Group. The failed slope was observed to be a homogenous sandstone rock slope which is quartzitic in places with joint sets and patterns that are consistent across the slope mass. Field observations suggested that the failure mechanism was planar, and the landslide may have occurred by pre-existing conditions, such as the joint pattern. Kinematic analyses using Rocscience Inc. Dips revealed three major joint sets (JS 1, JS 2 and JS 3) in the rock mass which are oriented northeast-southwest, west north west-east south east, and north-south respectively. The main failure plane best correlated with JS 2, which dips towards the lake. The analyses also revealed that the mechanism of failure was planar which is in agreement with field observations.
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