Page 14 - ARUBA TODAY

A14 LOCAL
Tuesday 19 March 2019

Geo insular patrimony an ancient heritage.

Episode X:

Landscape character Part II

The Quartzdiorite (QD) landscape in Sta. Cruz, Tanki Flip, Noord, Alto Vista and Sa-
baneta as mentioned, is where a number of relatively deep guts or dry rivers are
to be found. The considerable amount of weathered material on top of the diorite
basement is cut through by water during rainfall. Many of these guts contain large
amounts of QD debris. This debris is the main geological component of the area
around Sabaneta.

hydrological- and soil con-
ditions of this landscape
have been evident to Am-
erindians. The Hooiberg
(166 m), a conical-shaped
hill west of Santa Cruz is situ-
ated in the middle of the
typical QD landscape. The Fig: 2 Artist stylized Hooiberg and from where Hooibergite got
main component of this hill its name.
is hooibergite. Other “for- landscape forming char- the ceramic groups pos-
eign” phenomena in the acteristics is the result of the sible. Two large guts run
QD landscape are the small difference in resistance to through the sites of Tanki
hills at the north coast. Here weathering of these rocks. Flip and Santa Cruz. Tanki
gabbro is the main compo- Flip is in a flat area with only
nent. Although of different Only one of the Preceramic a few boulders. Santa Cruz
Pic. 1: Dry river bed showing QD rocks, at Yara North of appearance, physical and sites is found in the QD land- is in a slightly undulating
Sabaneta
landscape-forming char- scape. Other Preceramic landscape with many QD-
The QD basement of these near these dry rivers in the acteristics, the QD, hooi- sites such as Arashi are situ- boulders. The guts here are
guts is impermeable, form- QD landscape. Most banks bergite, and gabbro have ated near outcrops of QD. relatively deeper than at
ing shallow natural water of these dry rivers show a a common geological The site Barcadera is near Tanki Flip.
reservoirs in the upper lying black top soil layer form- origin and are, in fact, one large amounts of QD de- Sabaneta is situated at
detritus. The modern water ing an ideal place for veg- geological unit, called the bris. The vicinity of these ar- the end of a rooi in a QD
reservoirs are mostly made etation. These favorable batholith. The difference in eas to the coast is for these –landscape with no boul-
two sites of more signifi- ders. This site is near the
cance than the QD com- coast where mangroves
ponent, if we consider the and small beaches alter-
characteristics of the pre- nate. Another important
ceramic groups. The larg- site which is situated on QD
est Ceramic sites are situ- debris is Parkietenbos. Two
ated in the QD-landscape. sites are here, at the east-
The favorable hydrologi- and west bank of a large
cal conditions created by gut, the same gut that flows
the guts and the relatively through Santa Cruz. The soil
good agricultural soil in the at Parkietenbos is compa-
areas of Santa Cruz, Tanki rable to that in Tanki Flip.
Flip and Sabaneta, made
long-term habitation by Continued on Page 15

Pic. 3, the implementation of local stones as construction
material at Bushiribana, Paradera .