Géochimie et géochronologie des laves felsiques des monts Bamenda (ligne volcanique du Cameroun)

Abstract

The felsic lavas of the Bamenda Mountains, in the main part of the Cameroon Volcanic Line, are mainly represented by trachytes, with subordinated benmoreites and alkaline to peralkaline rhyolites. New K–Ar geochronological data define two main volcanic episodes, the first one between 18 and 22 Ma, and the second one from 12.5 to 13.5 Ma. Geochemical data indicate that these felsic rocks mainly originated through a fractional crystallization process from mafic magmas. Crustal contamination also occurred during the magma evolution. These new data confirm that there is no time evolution of the volcanism along the Cameroon Volcanic Line and show a similar magma genesis process through space and time.