Harrat al-Shamah

The Harrat al-Shamah (also known variously as the Harrat Ash Shaam and the Harrat e-Shamah) is a volcanic field covering a total area of some 40,000 km² (15,000 sq mi). This massive alkaline volcanic field extends from southern Syria, across Jordan and into northwestern Saudi Arabia.This wide extended basaltic province contains more than 800 volcanic cones and around 140 dikes and ring dikes.

The Jabal al-Druze, al-Safa and Dirat al-Tulul volcanic fields (among others) form the northern, Syrian, part of the Harrat al-Shamah; al-Harrah is in the southern, Saudi Arabian, third of the field.

Sources

• Ibrahim, K. (1993) "The geological framework for the Harrat Ash-Shaam Basaltic Super-Group and its volcanotectonic evolution" Bulletin 24, Geological Mapping Division, Natural Resources Authority, Jordan
• Ilani, S., Harlavan, Y., Tarawneh, K., Rabba, I., Weinberger, R., Khalil, I., and Peltz, S., (2001) "New K-Ar ages of basalts from the Harrat Ash Shaam volcanic field in Jordan: Implications for the span and duration of the upper-mantle upwelling beneath the western Arabian plate" Geology 29(2):171-174
• Kempe, S. and Al-Malabeh, A., (2005), "Newly discovered lava tunnels of the Al-Shaam plateau basalts" Geophysical Research Abstracts 7, European Geosciences Union
• Salf, S.I., (1988) "Field and petrographic characteristics of Cenozoic basaltic rocks, Northwestern Saudi Arabia" Journal of African Earth Sciences 7(5):805-809
• Weinstein, Y., Navon, O., Altherr, R., and Stein, M., (2006) "The role of lithospheric mantle heterogeneity in the generation of Plio-Pleistocene alkali basalt suites from NW Harrat Ash Shaam (Israel)" Journal of Petrology 47(5):1017-1050
• Al Kwatli, M.A., Gillot, P.Y., Zeyen, H., Hildenbrand, A., and Al Gharib, I., 2012. Volcano-tectonic evolution of the northern part of the Arabian plate in the light of new K-Ar ages and remote sensing: Harrat Ash Shaam volcanic province (Syria).Tectonophysics, 580, 192-207.

External links

• VolcanoWorld information and aerial photograph