Download Abu Darag Formation

2. The Palaeozoic outcrops of north
Eastern Desert
ABDALLAH & EL-ADINDANI (1965) subdivided these
rocks into three formations, from top to base:
- Aheimer Formation.
- Abu Darag Formation, and
- Rod El Hamal Formation.
The three formations have unexposed bases and
their exact superposition is therefore unknown.
According to SAID & EISSA (1969), these formations
seem to be stratigraphically the same in spite of the
variations of the foraminiferal faunal assemblage
found in each. The exposures range in age from Late
Carboniferous to Early Permian.
Rod El Hamal Formation:
(100-357 m, Carboniferous)
It is best exposed at the junction of Wadi Araba and
Wadi Rod El Hamal and is composed of the following
mappable units "members"
Abu Darag Formation:
(40-178 m, Upper Carboniferous)
The most complete section of the Abu Darag
Formation is exposed at the core and southern flank
of the Abu Darag anticlinal structure. In the northern
and southern flanks, the formation is overlain by
sandy and red beds (Qiseib Formation) which are
intercalated with marine thin beds of green marls
and yellow hard limestones of Permo-Triassic age.
Aheimer Formation:
(60-250m, Upper Carboniferous-Lower Permian)
The type locality of this formation is at Wadi Aheimer
about 10 kms south of Ain Sukhna. This formation could
be subdivided into three members as follows (KORA &
MANSOUR 1992).
In the north Eastern Desert between Wadi Qena
and Wadi Dakhel
at the Southern Galala Plateau, Carboniferous strata
are designated the Somr El-Qaa Formation
(KLITZSCH 1990). This unit (40-60 m) most probably
correlates with the Um Bogma and Abu Thora
Formations of Sinai, but marine influence is less
than at Sinai (KORA 1995).
3. The Palaeozoic subsurface rocks in north
Western Desert:
A formal startigraphic scheme was proposed by
KEELEY (1989) for this Palaeozoic succession. Two
groups and seven formations span the interval from
the Mid-Cambrian to the Early Permian. The
resolution
between these superficially similar clasticdominated units
is enhanced by the use of
palynostratigraphical zonation.
The Siwa Group (Mid-Cambrian-Late Silurian)
i) Shifa Formation (after the spring Ain Shifa at Siwa)
ii) Kohla Formation (after Kohla area, north of Siwa)
iii) Basur Formation (after the type well El-Basur-1)
The Faghur Group (Devonian-Early
Permian)
Zeitoun Formation (after the type well Zeitoun-1)
ii) Desouqy Formation (after the type well ElDesouqy-1
iii) Dhiffah Formation (after the Dhiffah Plateau on
the northern Libyan border)
iv) Safi Formation (after the spring Ain es Safi at
Siwa)