EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, VOL.

7, 489-497 (1982)

ROCK MASS STRENGTH AND THE FORM OF SOME

INSELBERGS IN THE CENTRAL NAMIB DESERT
M. J. SELBY
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand

Received 27March 1981

Revised 1 1 September 1981

ABSTRACT
A rock mass strength classification, involving eight parameters, has been applied to selected inselbergs in the Namib
Desert. The inselbergs are formed of schists, gneiss, granite and marble. Their slope inclinations are in a strength
equilibrium with their rocks. The study suggests that the strength classification is consistent and has a general validity,
and that rock slopes, undergoing uniform weathering, retreat to form slopes which are adjusted to their rock mass
strength: this is a more general statement than the common hypothesis of parallel retreat. The favoured hypothesis
of slope evolution in the Namib is one of retreat rather than downwearing.

KEY WORDS Rock mass strength Strength equilibrium Inselberg slopes Slope retreat Namib

INTRODUCTION
Study of the inselbergs of the central Namib Desert has been undertaken for two reasons: (1) to provide
a further test of the method of assessing rock mass strength already described by Selby (1980); (2) to
evaluate established theories of the evolution of rock slopes in a desert environment.
The central Namib provides an excellent field study area because it is reasonably accessible by air and
road transport; it has an extremely arid climate which has not undergone any significant change during
the last two glacials and interglacials at least (Selby, Hendy and Seely, 1979); and it has many rock slopes
on numerous inselbergs, isolated mountain ranges, and parts of the escarpment, and the spurs extending
from it, which forms the inland edge of the desert.
The Namib Desert extends from 15"s in Angola, southwards for nearly 2000 km to the mouth of the
Olifants River, 32"S, in Cape Province, South Africa. The central Namib lies north of the Namib erg
and the canyon of the Kuiseb River (Figure 1). Descriptive accounts of the geomorphology of the area
are provided by Besler (1972), Beaudet and Michel (1978), and by Hovermann (1978). The geology of
the area is described by Martin (1965) and has been mapped at a scale of 1 to 1 million (Geological
Survey of the Republic of South Africa and South West Africa/Namibia, 1980).
Inselbergs of the central Namib Desert all possess only one main slope element: that is a rock slope,
nearly bare of debris, standing above a pediment which has a slope of 2"-6". Talus or debris slopes are
rare and, where they do exist, are of limited extent; they seldom consist of more than a veneer of debris
over a bedrock slope. Slope angles on the inselbergs vary from 90" to as little as 14":changes in inclination
are usually associated with a change in lithology or some structural control. The most common lithologies
are granite, schist, gneiss and marble. All of the rocks are of Late Precambrian age, except for some
Cretaceous granite forming large intrusive bodies in the northern part of the central Namib.
The inselbergs discussed in this paper are composed of metamorphic and igneous rocks which are
either well jointed or foliated; massive intrusive granites are excluded because their slope forms are
structurally controlled and may be unrelated to the mass strength of the rock. With this exception the

0197-9337/82/050489-09$01.00
@ 1982 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
490 M. J . SELBY

Figure 1. Location of inselbergs, which were studied, in the central Namib

inselbergs discussed are thought to be representative of the most common lithologies and slope forms
found on central Namib inselbergs and, although detailed comments are made with reference to only
four inselbergs whose slope profiles and rock mass strength have been measured, the conclusions drawn
are believed, from wide ranging reconnaissance, to be generally valid for that area.

ROCK MASS STRENGTH

The rock mass strength classification uses eight parameters: strength of intact rock measured with a
Schmidt hammer; state of weathering of the rock; the spacing of partings; orientation of partings with
respect to the hillslope; width of the partings; lateral or vertical continuity of the partings; infilling of
the partings; movement of water out of the rock mass. Each parameter is given a rating on a five-point
scale and the rock mass strength is indicated by the sum of the ratings. The term ‘parting’ in the
classification is used to encompass all geological discontinuities of whatever origin. Details of application
of the classification are given in Selby (1980).
In this study each slope profile was divided into units each of which had a characteristic inclination so
that the upper and lower boundaries were at changes of inclination. For each unit the slope angle was
measured, rock mass strength assessed and a schematic profile drawn showing the main features of the
rock parting pattern. Nearly all breaks of slope were found to coincide either with a change of lithology
or a change in joint spacing or joint orientation.
Rock slopes on which the hillslope inclination is adjusted to the mass strength of its rocks may be
called strength equilibrium slopes. Such slopes have already been described from Antarctica and New
Zealand (Selby, 1980) and on a graphical plot of slope angle against rock mass strength the data points
all fell within an envelope which lies around the regression line providing the best fit to the relationship.
Data for all Namib strength equilibrium slopes likewise fall within this envelope (Figure 2). This is taken
as a verification of the general method of the rock mass strength classification.
Strenth equilibrium slopes are features of all Namib inselbergs formed on non-granitic rocks and also
of the inland escarpment where the climate is too arid for a continuous soil and vegetation cover to form.
 ROCK MASS STRENGTH 49 1

100 I I I 1 I I I I I /
I

90 -

80 -

._
c

Gamsberg Pass, schist -

!A
!A
+ Heinrichsberg
m
= 40-
i
v Rostockberg, granite and schist -
x A Saagberg, schist and marble
u
0
a NAMIB INSELBERGS
,'Envelope for strength
equilibrium slopes
LJ'

Re ression line for Antarctic

/ a n 1 New Zealand data

1°L I
Angle of S l o p e (degrees)

Figure 2. The relationship between rock mass strength and slope angle for all rock units studied in Namib

T H E INSELBERGS
Three inselbergs-Saagberg, Rostockberg and Heinrichsberg-and a profile of a spur from the main
escarpment above the Gamsberg Pass have ben chosen as representatives of the main lithologies and
slope forms of the central Namib. Measured profiles indicating the main features of the partings, the
characteristic slope inclinations and (in bold type) the rock mass strength for each unit are shown in
Figure 3; an example of the data obtained is given in Table I. The profile for Rostockberg is broken
because many slope units are repetitive in their features and the total height of the hill, 280 m, cannot
be depicted on a small drawing.
Saagberg is a ridge aligned approximately north to south with its scarp facing east towards the main
escarpment. Its rocks are schists and marbles. They dip at about 30" into the scarp which is sufficiently
free of talus debris for measurements of mass strength to be made on all rock units except one bed of
finely laminated marble. This laminated marble was largely obscured by debris and its rock so closely
fractured that Schmidt hammer readings could not be made. The dip slope of Saagberg is covered by
talus resting at about 17".
This schists have very weak intact strengths with an 'N' type Schmidt hammer reading of between 15
and 26; joints and planes of schistosity are 100 to 400 nm apart, few of them are continuous and they
are 1-3 mm wide; weathering is slight and, as with all sites in the Namib, there is no groundwater flow.
Mass strength ratings are consequently relatively low at 56, 60 and 66 units with the differences being
primarily caused by variations in spacing of partings.
The marbles have higher intact strength than the schist, with Schmidt hammer readings of 30-52, but
the finely laminated rock units have such closely spaced partings, 80-100 mm, that their mass strengths,
with ratings of 61-66, are similar to those of the schist. Only the more massive marble has relatively
high mass strength ratings of 70 and 72.
492 M. J. SELBY

Table I. Rock mass strength data

Site-Gamsberg Pass
Slope Unit A B C D E F G H I J K L
Slope angle 37 85 17 64 34 78 30 80 31 66 26 20

Strength 'R' 5 14 5 14 5 14 5 14 5 5 5 5
Weathering 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Spacing of partings 15 21 15 28 15 28 15 28 15 21 15 15
Orientation of partings 20 18 9 14 18 14 20 14 14 14 14 14
Width of partings 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 4 6 5 6 6
Continuity and infill of
partings 6 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6
Groundwater flow 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Total rating 67 81 56 84 65 83 67 82 61 67 61 62
Height of slope unit (m) 34 4 9 3 13 11 14 7 13 3 18 1

Site-Heinrichsberg
Slope Unit A B C D E F G H I J K L M N 0
Slope angle 62 22 37 35 51 40 31 89 18 80 16 33 21 92 19
-
Strength 'R' 5 5 5 5 1 4 10 5 5 5 1 4 5 5 5 10 5
Weathering 9 9 9 9 1 0 9 9 9 9 1 0 9 9 9 9 9
Spacing of partings 15 15 15 15 21 15 8 30 8 28 8 21 15 28 15
Orientation of partings 20 18 18 20 18 20 20 20 20 5 18 20 20 20 14
Width of partings 6 7 7 7 4 6 6 6 6 4 6 5 5 5 6
Continuity and infill of
partings 6 6 6 6 5 6 5 7 7 6 5 5 6 6 6
Groundwater flow 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Total rating 67 66 66 68 78 72 59 83 61 73 57 71 66 84 61
Height of slope unit (m) 3 6 3 2 9 2 3 5 5 4 8 2 1 2 4 3 4

Rostockberg is an inselberg lying some 20 km from the main escarpment. Its rocks are granites and
schists: the granites have regular orthogonal joint patterns.The rock is mapped as Gamsberg Granite.
The schists which form the upper part of the hill are interlayed with laminated granite and one rock
unit-I in the section-is composed of laminated granite which grades into a gneiss and has zones of
schistosity.
The granite forming the lower slopes of Rostockberg has a weak to moderate intact strength with
Schmidt hammer readings ranging from 44 to 51, but joint spacings are in excess of three metres and,
although joints are open (10 mm) and mostly continuous, the mass strength ratings of 78-87 put all of
these granites in the same strong class. Individual joint blocks are so large that they form the face of the
slope which consequently has a stepped profile with slope units inclined at 80" to 90". Higher on the
inselberg laminated granite, with Schmidt hammer intact strengths of only 24 and joint spacing of 100
to 300 mm, has a mass strength similar to that of schist; in contrast the schistose granite has mass strength
values of 78 which put it into the strong class. Rostockberg schist has similar mass strength values, and
slope angles formed on it, to those of Saagberg.
Heinrichsberg is a relatively isolated inselberg standing a little over 100 m above the main desert plain.
It is composed of mica schist, but differs from the coeval Saagberg schist both in mica content and also
 ROCK MASS STRENGTH 493

because it is within the metamorphic aureole of the Donkerhoek granite (H. Martin personal communica-
tion). As a result of contact metamorphism the Heinrichsberg schist has a slightly higher intact strength
(20-30) than other Namib schists, with the highest readings being obtained from rock units containing
many quartz veins. Some of the schist units have relatively wide joint spacing (e.g. units F, L) with
consequent high mass strengths of 71-72 and steep slope inclinations, of 33" and 40", for this type of
rock. The steepest slopes on schist occur where the rock is rich in quartz and has few joints: unit N, for
example, has an intact strength of 40, joint spacing of 1500mm, closed joints and a mass strength of
84. The slopes of Heinrichsberg are crossed by several pegmatite and aplite dykes. These rocks have
moderate intact strengths and few or very widely spaced joints with resulting high mass strengths, and
hence the ability to support steep slope angles of 51" and 80" (units E, J).
Gumsberg Puss follows the headwaters of the Kuiseb River and lies between spurs extending towards
the Namib from the escarpment. A slope on one of these spurs was selected as being representative.
The spur is composed of schists. The rock appears to be altered flysch and has variable composition:
quartz-rich rock units are interbedded with weaker biotite-rich beds which are highly sheared and have
closely-spaced foliations. Boudins and pockets of quartz reinforce some of the foliated schist. In the
stronger units spacing between foliations is 100 to 150 mm, but in the weaker units only 50-90 mm. The
strongest rock units are welded by secondary quartz and/or calcium carbonate which fills the joints, thus
producing an effective joint spacing of 1 to 2 m.
As a result of the interbedding of weak and strong units the slopes have stepped profiles with the
quartz vein-reinforced rock having mass strength ratings of 81-83 and slope angles of 78"-85", while the
weaker rock units have ratings of 61-67 and slopes of 26" to 37". The weakest schist has a mass strength
of 56 and slope of 17". Because the Gamsberg Pass is in the slightly more humid zone, with an average
of 100-200 mm of rain per year, inland of the most arid part of the Namib, it can support some vegetation.
The talus material which lies upon the lower angle hillslope units is thus mostly fixed in place by grasses
and thorn bushes, and some chemical weathering is obviously contributing to soil formation in place. In
spite of this the soil profile is so thin, and the rock outcrops so numerous that the slope may still be
regarded as a rock slope rather than a soil-covered slope. The presence of soil does, however, make
measurement of rock features impossible and consequently the measurements for soil-covered rock units
shown on the profile (Figure 3) were derived from rock exposed in a gully floor, while the profile is of
a spur between two gullies. Mass strength measurements for outcrops were obtained from the spur profile.

SLOPE PROCESSES
The nature and rate of operation of processes on rock slopes is difficult to determine. Weathering causes
exfoliation of small (10-200 mm) platey rock fragments in fine-grained rocks and granular disintegration
on coarse-grained rocks: the opening of joints and separation of joint blocks may lead to rock falls from
steep outcrops or slow creep of blocks on gentler slopes. Debris comes to rest on slopes of less than
about 35" and remains there until weathering processes break it down to pea-size gravel, which can be
moved by rare (once in 10 years) sheet wash, or to sand which can be moved by wind. Talus deposits
on rock slopes are usually one or two particles thick; they occur most commonly below a steep slope
unit. The weaker rocks are thus protected from further weathering, and recession of a weak rock unit
to undercut a stronger rock mass is rare. With the single exception of some rills etched into massive
granite domes no channels were seen cut into the rocks of inselbergs.
Surrounding each inselberg is a pediment, cut across bedrock, bearing a pea-sized gravel veneer that
is usually 0.5 to 1.0 m thick. This veneer is sometimes calcreted and may be rilled with channels which
cut down to the bedrock. Talus does not accumulate at the upslope margin of the pediment. The pediment
is commonly 20-200 m long and grades into the main desert plain which has a slope of 0.5" to 3".
Only close to the inland escarpment where rainfall occurs in most years and mean annual precipitation
is 100 to 200mm can soil formation and vegetation cover have an effect on slope processes. In such
areas gully and rill development occurs on slopes, and the abundance of terracettes suggests that soil
creep, perhaps greatly accelerated by animal treading, is a common process.
494 M. J. SELBY

DISCUSSION
Most established hypotheses of rock slope development; such as those of Penck (1924), Bryan (1940),
Wood (1942), Fair (1947, 1948) and King (1951, 1953, 1962) make the simplifying assumption that the
rocks of scarp faces have uniform resistance to weathering and erosion. Whilst this assumption is useful
for establishing models of hillslope form and change it is generally untrue and may have diverted attention
from the variability of rock resistance and rock slope inclinations. Even where rock lithologies are uniform
it is rare for joints to be uniform in spacing and width so that rock resistance and slope angles are
consequently variable. Bornhardts provide notable exceptions to these statements.
The rock mass strength classification directs attention to those features which control resistance.
Variability in resistance nearly always results in variability in slope inclinations although for any mass
strength the angle of a strength equilibrium slope may fall anywhere within a range of about 40". The

metres

ROSTOC KB ERG

ran,te ZH Laminated granite

c A* F Massive granite

0 10 20 30 40 50
metres

Figure 3. Slope profiles for Namib inselbergs, showing the slope

 ROCK MASS STRENGTH 495

100 -

90 - H El N RICH SBE RG
L Schist
80 -

70 -

60 -
Lo
G,

c
50-
W

LO- z'&*&,' F Schist

1 1

"0 10 20 30 LO 50 60 70 80 90 100
m e t r e s

130-
L Schist
120 - GAMSBERG P A S S
hist, soil covered
110 - tth quartz veins

100 -
ceous schist with lenses of
forming outcrops, soil covered

90 - chist and quartz veins

80 - tst, soil covered

v)

70- 1st w i t h many quartz veins

L

w 60- caceous schist with lenses of guartz

E ing outcrops, soil covered
50 - with lenses of quartz

40 -

30 -

20 -

10 - Micaceous schist, soil covered

m e t r e s

angles and mass strength rating (in bold type) for rock units
496 M. J. SELBY

standard error of estimate for determining the slope angle from a knowledge of mass strength is *5".
This lack of precision is produced by the coarseness of a five-class method of classification, by observational
error, by variations in intensity of processes across the slope, by failure of the classification to include
all of the effective parameters and, possibly, by the inherent tendency for an adjustment of slope angle
to occur more slowly than the development of a change in one of the parameters on a rock face. This
last point may be illustrated by the condition in which a joint opens and creates a theoretical reduction
of mass strength which will not affect the slope until processes of weathering and erosion exploit that
joint. There is consequently always a likelihood of a lag in the response to changing mass strength.
The common occurrence of strength equilibrium slopes in areas of Antarctica, New Zealand, South
Africa and Namibia (Selby, 1980; Moon and Selby (in preparation), this paper) suggests that rock slopes
do retain inclinations which are controlled by their resistance. If this is so then they must retreat parallel
to themselves as long as their rock remains uniform in lithology, degree of weathering, jointing and water
content. Any variability in these features will cause a variation in slope inclination. It may then be valid
to replace the hypothesis of parallel retreat of uniform rock faces with a statement that rock faces will,
during their retreat, maintain slope angles controlled by their mass strength: only when mass strength is
uniform will this involve parallel retreat.
The origin of the Namib inselberg slopes is not clear, but three hypotheses have been discussed in the
literature.
1. Stripping of a regolith to leave residual rock masses appears to be ruled out by the total absence
of a chemically weathered regolith exceeding one metre depth anywhere in the central Namib
(Selby, 1977), and also by the existence of arid or semiarid climatic conditions for the whole of the
late Cenozoic and possibly longer (see Selby, 1977 for a review of the evidence and Selby, Hendy
and Seely, 1979 for dated evidence of climatic stability in the last 210,000 years).
2. It has been suggested by Ollier (1978, p. 166) that successive bevellings by mantle-controlled
planation would reduce the level of the Namib plain, and that the more durable rocks, especially
those with little fissiIity, might be lowered less and, in the course of time, be left as high standing
residuals rising above the plains, with their borders corresponding with geological boundaries.
This hypothesis may appear to be relevant to areas in the middle of the plain where granite
intrusions form distinct features with borders at the geological contacts. However this hypothesis, as
originally expounded by Mabbutt (1966), was based on the occurrence of relict weathered layers and
duricrusts indicating that the main outlines of hills and plains were determined in the geologic past
by compartmentation of deep weathering, with the lowlands forming as etchplains during one or
more cycles of stripping, and the desert pediments of today forming from modest lowering and
trimming of exposed former weathering fronts or other boundaries of differential weathering. In the
absence of the diagnostic criteria of relic weathered profile remnants and duricrusts related to deep
weathering there is no evidence which supports the mantle-controlled planation hypothesis.
3. A scarp retreat hypothesis for the origin of the inselbergs and inland escarpment has some evidence
in its favour. The equilibrium relationship between rock mass strength and hillslope angle appears
to be valid for many non-granitic inselbergs, and for all of those surveyed so far. This suggests that
slope processes, rather than a general downwearing of the landscape, are responsible for the present
slope profiles, and that scarps retain strength equilibrium angles as they retreat.
Inselbergs may be of two kinds-inselbergs of resistance and inselbergs of position. The granite
inselbergs of the Namib are certainly inselbergs of resistance and their form is structurally controlled
(Selby, 1977; in press). The schist inselbergs are probably inselbergs of position. In an area of schist
plain, about 50 km southwest of Rostockberg, long drives have been cut by bulldozers in a search for
copper ores. These drives are about 2.5 m wide, 200-800 mm deep and each is several kilometres long:
all reach down to bedrock and provide sites for measuring the mass strength of the bedrock. Values
ranging from 55 to 68 units have been obtained. These values are similar to those obtained for schists
on the inselbergs and suggest that the inselbergs are not composed of more resistant rock than the plain.
Such data, however, must be treated with extreme caution. The bulldozed drives have very disturbed
rock on which it is often difficult, or impossible, to obtain Schmidt hammer readings; the spacing of
 ROCK MASS STRENGTH 497

partings is also very disturbed; and the data are inadequate for statistical tests. Obtaining further data
will be very difficult as so much of the pediment gravel is calcreted.
In the absence of evidence to the contrary scarp retreat appears to be a preferred hypothesis for the
origin of the inselbergs and escarpment, but evidence is still inadequate and equivocal.

CONCLUSIONS
The rock mass strength classification gives consistent results in a variety of climatic zones, and on a range
of lithologies. Its application to inselbergs in a desert environment demonstrates that rock slope inclinations
are adjusted to the resistance of their rock masses. The widely-held hypothesis that rock slopes, on which
weathering is uniform across the exposed rock face, retreat parallel to themselves is true only if the
resistance of the rock does not change with depth into the rock mass. Even a small change in joint
spacing can produce a change in rock mass strength and the hypothesis would, therefore, be more
appropriately stated in the form-rock faces undergoing uniform weathering retreat to form slopes which
are in conformity with the mass strength of their rocks.
The widespread occurrence of strength equilibrium slopes in the Namib Desert, on a variety of
lithologies, suggests that slope change involves slope retreat rather than a general downwearing or
mantle-controlled planation process.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to Dr Mary Seely, Namib Desert Research Station, for hospitality during the field season
and to Professor Henno Martin, Gottingen, for geological advice.

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Strasbourg.
Besler, H. 1972. ‘Klimaverhaltnisse und Klimageomorphologische Zonierung der zentralen Namib (Siidwestafrika)’, Stuttgarrer
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