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Essay / An overview of the geological characteristics of Lebanon
Table of contentsTopic analysisConclusionBibliographyLebanon is located at the intersection of the African, Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Due to the intersection of the three plates that occurs here, the region has a complex history and interesting geography. Lebanon has three major mountain ranges: Mount Lebanon, the Bekaa and the Anti-Lebanon range. Lebanon also has a western border and the lower regions of the Palmyrides and the Syrian Arc. These features of the region all have important geological significance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Topic Analysis Mount Lebanon is the first of a few NNE-SSW aligned ranges (Walley, 1998). Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks form Lebanon's largest mountain range. Being both the largest and closest to the coast, Mount Lebanon constitutes a major geological feature. The range has been separated into northern and southern zones, both of which have been useful in studying the geological history of Lebanon since the region is difficult to study and most of what is known about its history comes from models of tectonic plates (Walley, 1998). The Mount Lebanon area generally exceeds a thousand meters in altitude despite its deep valleys. The range has clearly been influenced by east-west fault zones in the immediate region of the mountain range. The southern area of the range is closer to the shore and is therefore lower in elevation. Magnetic and gravitational phenomena in this region suggest that the crust is thinner. The size of the range and proximity to the coast and populated areas leads to runoff and erosion, a contemporary problem that geography poses for the region (Khawlie, 2002). Erosion also dates back historically, the Miocene Levant margin was eroded due to the evolution of the Levant bill system combined with the continued collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates (Hawie, 2013). The Bekaa is another important mountain range in Lebanon. This, along with the Anti-Lebanon Range, are the two most inland mountain ranges, encompassing Mount Hermon at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Range. Despite differences in age and history, both follow the same general North-South direction along East-West faults. The Bekaa is interesting because it contains more Quaternary deposits. There are essentially two major crustal uplifts that have occurred over the last six thousand years that have affected these ranges (Morhange, 2006). Raised fossil beds between Tripoli and Beirut, called "Tabarjan", were first reported on the coast 40 years ago. These features are attributed to historical tectonic movements, which lasted from the second century BC to the second or third century AD. Although there is currently no volcanic activity in the area, the geological composition of these features shows that there was a significant and notable amount of volcanic activity. over the last ten million years. Golan volcanism in particular appears to have died out very recently, probably within the last ten thousand years. Older volcanic artifacts can be seen in a significant number of Upper Jurassic volcanic vents. There is a good one in Aintoura on the Dour Choueir-Zahle road. The West Lebanon flexure connects the region to the Israel/Palestine region as well as the Eastern Mediterranean region (Walley, 1998). Characteristic of Mount Lebanon, the NNE – SSW monoclinal flexion zone has dips between 45° and 90°. It contains both outward-dipping faults and high inward-dipping reverse faults, extending over 100 km. There is a notable difference between the east and west sides of the flexure: the carbonates on the east side have shallow marine sediments while the west side has more chalky sediments, demonstrating a historical environmental difference (Walley, 1998). The indication comes from a Mesozic basin, called the hinge line of Lebanon. This hinge line extends more or less along a NNE-SSW orientation from eastern Sinai, around the coast of southern Israel/Palestine. Once again we see this development of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods propagating into the Carmel-Sinai Hinge continuing westward. The parallelism between the current coastline, the flexion, the mesostructures of Mount Lebanon, the Bekaa and Anti-Lebanon, and the Yammouneh fault strongly suggests a common control over these features. The structure is likely early Mesozoic development leading to the opening of the Levant Branch into the NeoTethyan Ocean. The structure was probably formed in the late Lower Miocene based on the dated surface unconformity. The Palmyride Ranges in Syria are connected to Lebanon in Cenozoic history. The NE-SW trending range has a maximum elevation of only 1,385 meters and is flanked by Rutbah and Aleppo to the south and north, respectively (Wally, 4). The Palmyrides appear to correspond to the Mount Hermon massif of Anti-Lebanon, but the exact relationship between the Palmyrides and the geology of Lebanon is unclear. The Palmyride fold belt can be considered its northern and southern zones. The southern area is the main section, which has smaller asymmetrical folds. The northern area has broader folds dating back to the Paleozoic and Precambrian. The Mount Lebanon massif supplies the northern zone via Aleppo. Compared to the southern part of Mount Lebanon, both are topographically lower compared to their northern counterparts. A demonstrated elevation bias occurs in the northern area of the region. Variations in the sedimentary facies suggest that this higher altitude around Mount Lebanon and in the northern region existed from the Late Burdigalian period to the present (Hawie, 2013). Rapid accumulation in the Mediterranean during the early Pliocene led to the deposition of deposits which added to the structures. Likewise, the absence of such deposits or a hinge line in the southern zone of the Lebanon region is linked to the connections in the southern geography, providing a historical trend of development between the northern and southern structures. The Syrian arc is a fold of belts between Egypt and Egypt. Sinai through the folds of Palmyra in Syria (Wally, 5). The concept initially referred to the continuous northwest-oriented arc, but now refers to the fold belt which as a whole is southeast-oriented. It was once thought to be a product of the Dead Sea fault, but given the age and extent of the Syrian arc, this hypothesis is now widely disbelieved. Three distinct segments exist within the Syrian Arc fold belt: the west, the center and the east. The western segment is aligned NE-SW in the Sinai, the central segment is aligned NNE-SSW almost NS (a notable change in curvature) in Israel/Palestine and Lebanon and the eastern segment is oriented NE-SW in the Palmyrides. Chronologically, most of the Early Syrian Arc appears to have formed in the early Senonian period. There is a widespread break in the deposits in Israel/Palestine, which separates the Judea and Mount Scopus groups, dated as late as the Coniacian period, making an early Senonian age reasonable. In Syria, the moment of.0040-1951(98)00177-2