SOME STRATiGRAPHICAL AND SEDIMENTOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE RAS BANAS PENINSULA, RED SEA MARGINAL AREA, SOUTHERN PART OF EGYPT.

Abstract

The present study deals with the litho- and biostratigraphy, structure, petrography, sedimentology and geochemistry of the Neogene-Quaternary sedimentary sequence ofRas Banas Peninsula.

Ras. Banas Peninsula IS a large tract ofland jutting out into the Red Sea. It extends about

.35 Km eastward out of the general trend of the Red Sea Coast of Egypt, covering an area of

.about 400 sq. Km. (Fig. I).

Geomorphologically, the peninsula is made up of two distinct units:

1) A high land unit, covering the central and southern parts of the peninsula, which occurs as a long narrow ridge of massive Precambrian rocks, oriented parallel to the length of the peninsula and separated by an inlier filled with Neogene sediments, and 2) A gentle sloped coastal plain unit which extends from the foothills seaward, and is covered by sands, gravels, sabkhas, and coralline limestones.

Twenty surface sections representing a complete stratigraphic sequence of the peninsula were measured. The .lithologic characters of these sections are described, their lateral as well as vertical variations have been traced (Fig. 33). Two hundred samples, representing the examined sedimentary sequence were collected•, thin sectioned and subjected to detailed petrographical, mineralogical and geochemical investigations. A photogeological map as well as a structural investigation of this sequence was also carried out.

On the basis of the identified benthonic foraminiferal species, and the available collection of megafossils, six biozones are established. These biozones have been fully described, then the age of the different biostratigraphic units has been determined.