[2] The formation is a volcanic unit, consisting mainly of high-titanium, low-potassium tholeiitic basalt flows.

[3][4][5][6][7] The lavas are dark, vesicular and porphyritic or massive basalts, with occasional pillows,[8][9][10][11] although rare dacites and rhyolites have been reported from some areas of north-eastern Botswana.

[10][12] The basalt mineralogy consists of mainly of plagioclase, augite, magnetite, some ilmenite and volcanic glass.

In the Hwange area, vesicles consist mostly of quartz, chalcedony or calcite,[10] though zeolites, such as stilbite, mesolite and laumontite, are dominant towards Victoria Falls and in the lower Deka valley,[8] and are common in north-eastern Botswana.

[13] The Batoka Formation is found in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, in the Mid-Zambezi, Mana Pools and Cabora Bassa Basins.