International Journal of Geosciences, 2021, 12, 739-762 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ijg ISSN Online: 2156-8367 ISSN Print: 2156-8359 DOI: 10.4236/ijg.2021.129042 Sep. 1, 2021 739 International Journal of Geosciences Geochemistry of Sedimentary Rocks from the Nkapa Formation, North Western Part of the Douala Basin, Cameroon: Implications for Provenance, Tectonic Setting and Paleoenvironmental Conditions Florence Njinto Kwankam 1* , Christopher Mbaringong Agyingi 2 , Josepha Foba-Tendo 3 , Cheo Emmanuel Suh 2,4 1 Department of Petroleum Engineering, National Higher Polytechnic Institute (NAHPI), The University of Bamenda, Bambili, North West Region, Cameroon 2 Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, The University of Bamenda, Bambili, North West Region, Cameroon 3 Department of Chemistry, University of Buea, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon 4 Department of Geology, University of Buea, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon Abstract The Douala sedimentary basin in Cameroon is the main gas prospective basin in the country and has witnessed a number of investigations in this regard. The Nkapa Formation is one of the basin’s principal rock units and here we analyzed samples from sediments comprising this formation in order to con- strain their provenance, tectonic setting and depositional environment using geochemical traits. Major and trace elements were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Elemental ratios provide information on geochemical signatures of Eu/Eu ratios of the sandstones and shales, suggest- ing the provenance of the sediments was felsic from continental rock proto- liths. Calculated K 2 O/Na 2 O ratios > 1 is reminiscent of quartz-rich sediments deposited in passive margin (PM) environments with significant terrigenous input. The elemental ratios La/Sc, La/Ca, Th/Sc, and Th/Co suggest that the sediment sources are felsic and mafic in nature. The clastic sediments were normalized using North American Shale Composite (NASC). The Ni/Co and V/(V + Ni) ratios reveal that the sediments were deposited under variable conditions including euxinic, dysoxic and anoxic. Overall, the evidence from discrimination diagrams using major and trace elements suggest that the se- diments were derived from mostly Passive margins (PM) and continental isl- and arc (CIA) with minor Oceanic island arch (OIA) sources. Limestones from the studied area at Kompina, rich in calcium carbonate above 98.5% How to cite this paper: Kwankam, F.N., Agyingi, C.M., Foba-Tendo, J. and Suh, C.E. (2021) Geochemistry of Sedimentary Rocks from the Nkapa Formation, North Western Part of the Douala Basin, Came- roon: Implications for Provenance, Tec- tonic Setting and Paleoenvironmental Con- ditions. International Journal of Geosciences, 12, 739-762. https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2021.129042 Received: July 7, 2021 Accepted: August 29, 2021 Published: September 1, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access