DOCSLIB.ORG

GEOLOGY of EGYPT Bonnie M

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
GEOLOGY of EGYPT Bonnie M GEOLOGY OF EGYPT Bonnie M. SAMPSELL Blanca van Hasselt When one thinks about Egypt, what Meanwhile the African continent drifted northward and comes to our mind? There are the pyra- bumped into the European continent, connecting both continents mids and the sphinx, obelisks and tem- along present-day Turkey and the Middle East. By this time the ples… There are the pharaohs; one big Tethys Ocean was reduced into the intracontinental Mediter- may remember Ramses II, Nefertiti, ranean Sea. Once both landmasses were interlocked the forces Ptolemeus and Cleopatrea. There are readjusted and sometime during the Oligocene (about 40 mil- the tombs with colourful illustrations lion year ago), the split between the Arabian Peninsula and the commented in hieroglyphs. There are African continent started. This soon evolved in the creation of mommies and the treasures of Toutankh- the Red Sea Mountains and of the Red Sea. A depression formed Amon. Among the treasures are vases on the West Side of the Red Sea Mountains, which would much in cream coloured alabaster and heavy later become the Nile Valley. In the late Miocene (6 million golden jewellery inlaid with precious year ago, which is 6 000 000 year ago) the African continent and semi-precious stones: deep blue la- had bumped so much into the European continent that even the pis, vivid green malachite, sky blue turquoise, bright red coral, connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean bottle green emeralds, translucent purple amethyst, … Sea along the Strait of Gibraltar was closed. It happens that with Egyptian civilisation is traced back to 5000 year. It is closely the warm Mediterranean climate, about 10 times more water is followed by the Indian civilisation traced back to probably more evaporated compared to the combined amount of water fl owing than 4000 year. These numbers what do they mean? Roman civi- into the Mediterranean from the European and African rivers. So lisation only dates from 2000 years back. The conquests of Geng- after a while the Mediterranean Sea dried out except for a few his Khan and his hordes date back to barely 1000 year ago. The patches and lakes. With the bottom of the dried out Mediterra- intensive sea trade between the western world and Asia by ocean nean at about 2000 to 3000 m deep, the different rivers fl owing navigation only exists since the last 500 year. And yet more than into this deep dried out basin must fi rst have been some kind of 4000 year ago, during the Old Empire in Egypt [2700-2180 BC] waterfalls, progressively carving deep canyons into their rock the fi rst pyramids were build near present day Cairo. formations. Research indicates that within a few hundred thou- Most of Egypt’s monuments are in pale cream coloured lime- sand years the river that was to become the Nile had carved out stone. Either limestone blocs are used for construction of the a vast canyon into the soft limestone, reaching from the present- temples, sphinx and pyramids; or the limestone is hewn out in day Mediterranean shore up to Aswan or beyond, some 1000 km order to host the graves of the dead. If one looks into the geology or more to the south. Citing B. Sampsell based on research by of Egypt this is no surprise. In most of the country located north Said 1981, comparing the ancient Nile Canyon with today’s the of Aswan and West of the Red-Sea Mountains, the rock is mainly Grand Canyon in Arizona: made up by limestone. But then when one visits the temples and Nile Canyon Grand Canyon the museums, there are beautiful polished statues of pitch-black width 10 to 20 km 10 to 20 km basalt, red granite, and spotted porphyry. While the limestone length 1 300 km 320 km is soft and easily carved (which is convenient for the numerous depth 2 500 m 2 080 m inscription in hieroglyphs), the basalt, granite and porphyry are fl ow gradient 1 : 400 1 : 625 very hard stones, diffi cult to work, but beautiful and impressive once polished. So if most of Ancient Egypt is located in an area At the start of the Pliocene (5 million year ago), the Atlan- with mainly limestone, where did the hard stones come from, and tic breached the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Mediterranean Sea how did they get to the temples and graves? Bonnie M. Sampsell started to refi ll. This process may have required less than a thou- describes this among others in her interesting book “A traveler’s sand years. In consequence sea water invaded the Nile Canyon guide to the geology of Egypt” edited by the American Universi- as far as Aswan, and marine sediments fi lled up the canyon for ty In Cairo Press. But be aware, if the previous time spans (5000 about one third or maybe half of the initial canyon depth. These year of Egyptian civilisation) seem impressive, geological time sediments contain seashells. In Late Pliocene (3.3 million year spans will dazzle you. (Apologies, the following paragraphs con- ago) the Nile River started again to fl ow. Fed by small streams tain some geological terminology, but don’t bother). from the continent, the water in the canyon fi rst became brack- South of Aswan (nearby the tropic of cancer) the rock mainly ish, later to become completely fresh. In the subsequent sedi- consists in igneous and metamorphic rock: the old basement com- ments there are no longer seashells, but instead, there are fossils plex. These rocks are very old, at some locations 2 000 million of terrestrial plants and fresh water fi sh. These continental (ero- year (= 2 billion year), which is almost half the age of the Earth. sion) sediments fi lled the canyon to the rim, but the cliffs on both In late Cretaceous, some 80 to 90 million year ago, this area must sides of the Nile Valley which are still visible today, are the old have been the northern shore of the old African continent which Canyon walls. At Aswan the sediment reaches down to about at that point of time was still far away from Europe. There was 250 m below the modern Nile channel. This had engineering not yet a Mediterranean Sea, but a big Ocean called Tethys. On consequences when building the famous Aswan dam. this northern shore of the old African continent sandstone and Bonnie Sampsell’s book contains plenty of other interesting massive layers of limestone where deposited. Near Aswan, at the chapters describing the deserts, the Nile delta at Alexandria, the northern shore of this old African continent, these layers are not precious stones of the Red Sea Mountains, the ores and minerals very thick. But towards the North into the Tethys Ocean and near of the Sinai Peninsula and the fascinating history of the Canal present day Cairo, they are several hundreds of meters thick. of Suez. 15 i-News June / July 2010.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Crustal Structure of the Nile Delta: Interpretation of Seismic-Constrained Satellite-Based Gravity Data
    remote sensing Article Crustal Structure of the Nile Delta: Interpretation of Seismic-Constrained Satellite-Based Gravity Data Soha Hassan 1,2, Mohamed Sultan 1,*, Mohamed Sobh 2,3, Mohamed S. Elhebiry 1,4 , Khaled Zahran 2, Abdelaziz Abdeldayem 5, Elsayed Issawy 2 and Samir Kamh 5 1 Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49009, USA; [email protected] (S.H.); [email protected] (M.S.E.) 2 Department of Earth-Geodynamics, National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), Helwan 11421, Egypt; [email protected] (M.S.); [email protected] (K.Z.); [email protected] (E.I.) 3 Institute of Geophysics and Geoinformatics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, 09596 Freiberg, Germany 4 Department of Geology, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt 5 Department of Geology, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt; [email protected] (A.A.); [email protected] (S.K.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Interpretations of the tectonic setting of the Nile Delta of Egypt and its offshore extension are challenged by the thick sedimentary cover that conceals the underlying structures and by the paucity of deep seismic data and boreholes. A crustal thickness model, constrained by available seismic and geological data, was constructed for the Nile Delta by inversion of satellite gravity data (GOCO06s), and a two-dimensional (2D) forward density model was generated along the Delta’s entire length. Modelling results reveal the following: (1) the Nile Delta is formed of two distinctive Citation: Hassan, S.; Sultan, M.; crustal units: the Southern Delta Block (SDB) and the Northern Delta Basin (NDB) separated by a Sobh, M.; Elhebiry, M.S.; Zahran, K.; hinge zone, a feature widely reported from passive margin settings; (2) the SDB is characterized by an Abdeldayem, A.; Issawy, E.; Kamh, S.
    [Show full text]
  • A Window Into Paleocene to Early Eocene Depositional History in Egypt Basedoncoccolithstratigraphy
    The Dababiya Core: A window into Paleocene to Early Eocene depositional history in Egypt basedoncoccolithstratigraphy Marie-Pierre Aubry1 and Rehab Salem1,2 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Road, NJ 08854-8066, USA email: [email protected] 2Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, 31527, Tanta, Egypt [email protected] ABSTRACT: The composite Paleocene-lower Eocene Dababiya section recovered in the Dababiya Quarry core and accessible in out- crop in the Dababiya Quarry exhibits an unexpected contrast in thickness between the Lower Eocene succession (~Esna Shales) and the Paleocene one (~Dakhla Shales and Tarawan Chalk). We investigate the significance of this contrast by reviewing calcareous nannofossil stratigraphic studies performed on sections throughout Egypt. We show that a regional pattern occurs, and distinguish six areas—Nile Valley, Eastern Desert and western Sinai, Central and eastern Sinai, northern Egypt and Western Desert. Based on patterns related to thicknesses of selected lithobiostratigraphic intervals and distribution of main stratigraphic gaps, we propose that the differences in the stratigraphic architecture between these regions result from differential latest Paleocene and Early Eocene subsidence following intense Middle to Late Paleocene tectonic activity in the Syrian Arc folds as a result of the closure of the Neo-Tethys. INTRODUCTION view of coccolithophore studies in Egypt since their inception During the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleogene Egypt was (1968). Coccolith-bearing sedimentary rocks as old as part of a vast epicontinental shelf at the edge of the southern Cenomanian outcrop in central Sinai (Thamed area; Bauer et al. Tethys (text-fig. 1). Bounded by the Arabian-Nubian craton to 2001; Faris and Abu Shama 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Setting and Hydrocarbon Potential of North Sinai, Egypt
    BULLETIN OF CANADIAN PETROLEUM GEOLOGY VOL 44, NO.4 (DECEMBER 1996), P 615-631 Geologicsetting and hydrocarbon potential of north Sinai, Egypt A.S. ALSHARHAN M.G. SALAH Faculty ofScience Desertand Marine EnvironmentResearch Center UAEUniversity p.o. Box 17777 P.O.Box 17551 Al-Ain, UnitedArab Emirates Al-Ain, UnitedArab Emirates ABSTRACT The Sinai Peninsula is bounded by the Suez Canal and Gulf of Suez rift to the west, the transfonn Dead Sea-Aqaba rift to the east and the Mediterranean passive margin to the north. The stratigraphic section in North Sinai ranges in age from Precambrian to Recent and varies in thickness between 2000 m of mostly continental facies in the south to almost 8000 m of marine facies in the north. Four main tectonic trends reflect the influence of regional tectonic movements on the study area: 1) ENE-WSW-trending nonnal faults at the Triassic, Jurassic and Early Cretaceous levels; 2) NE-SW- trending anticlines at the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary levels; 3) NNW-SSE-trending nonnal faults at the Oligocene and Early Miocene levels; and 4) NNW-SSE-trending transfonn faults during the Late Miocene. Several oil and gas fields have been discovered in North Sinai since 1955. The Oligo-Miocene shales, the Early Cretaceous car- bonates and the Jurassic fine clastics are rich source rocks yielding oil and gas in deep source kitchens. The sandstones of the Miocene, Oligocene, Cretaceous and Jurassic ages,the Jurassic carbonates and the Cretaceous carbonates fonn the reservoirs in north Sinai. The intrafonnational Mesozoic and Cenozoic shales and dense carbonates and the middle 4 Miocene anhydrite fonn the seals.
    [Show full text]
  • Geology and Petroleum Resources of North-Central and Northeastern Africa
    UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Geology and petroleum resources of north-central and northeastern Africa By James A. Peterson^ Open-File Report 85-709 This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Reston, Virginia 1985 CONTENTS Page Abstract 1 Int roduct ion 3 Information sources 3 Geography 3 Acknowledgment s 3 Regional geology 7 Structure 7 Stratigraphy and sedimentation 9 Bas ement 2 2 Cambrian - Ordovician 22 Silurian 22 Devonian 22 Carbonif erous 2 3 Permian 23 Tr ias s i c 2 3 Jurassic 23 Cretaceous 24 Te r t iary 25 Quaternary 27 Petroleum geology 27 Sirte Basin 27 Western Sahara region 31 Suez-Sinai 34 Western Desert Basin - Cyrenaica Platform 36 East Tunisia - Pelagian Platform 37 Nile Delta - Nile Basin 39 Resource assessment 43 Procedures 43 Assessment 43 Comments 47 Selected references 49 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. North-central and northeastern African assessment regions 4 2. Generalized regional structure map of north-central and northeastern Africa 6 3. Generalized composite subsurface correlation chart, north-central and northeastern Africa 10 4. North-south structural-stratigraphic cross-section A-A', northern Algeria to southeastern Algeria 11 5. East-west structural-stratigraphic cross-section B-B f , west-central Libya to northwestern Egypt 12 6. Northeast-southwest structural-stratigraphic cross-section C-C f , northeastern Tunisia to east-central Algeria 13 7. North-south structural-stratigraphic cross-section D-D f , northeastern Libya to southeastern Libya 14 8. West-east structural-stratigraphic cross-section B'-B f , northern Egypt 15 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Structural Influence on the Evolution of a Pre-Eonile Drainage System of Southern Egypt: Insights from Magnetotellurics and Gravity Data
    STRUCTURAL INFLUENCE ON THE EVOLUTION OF A PRE-EONILE DRAINAGE SYSTEM OF SOUTHERN EGYPT: INSIGHTS FROM MAGNETOTELLURICS AND GRAVITY DATA By JEFFREY DALE RODEN Bachelor of Science in Geology Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 2011 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE May, 2011 STRUCTURAL INFLUENCE ON THE EVOLUTION OF A PRE-EONILE DRAINAGE SYSTEM OF SOUTHERN EGYPT: INSIGHTS FROM MAGNETOTELLURICS AND GRAVITY DATA Thesis Approved: Dr. Estella Atekwana Thesis Adviser Dr. Eliot Atekwana Dr. Alex Simms Dr. Mark E. Payton Dean of the Graduate College ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this thesis would not be possible without the assistance of Dr. Estella Atekwana, Dr. Eliot Atekwana, Dr. Alex Simms, and Dr. Mohamed Abdel Salam. I am forever grateful for your guidance and assistance throughout my graduate and undergraduate degrees. I would especially like to thank Dr. Estella Atekwana for giving me the opportunities to travel abroad. These are experiences that I will never forget. I would also like to thank all the faculty and staff of the Oklahoma State University Geology department. This thesis project was made possible through funding from the National Science Foundation International Research Experiences for Students. I would like to thank Dr. Gad El- Qady for his assistance with the Stratagem during my field work in Egypt and his continued assistance in processing the data upon returning home. I also extend my gratitude to Leslie Lansbery and Ali Atef for contributing their research, South Valley University in Aswan for their logistical support, and all the undergraduate and graduate students from Alexandria University- Damanhour, Sohag University, and Missouri S&T for their help in the field.
    [Show full text]
  • Egypt in the Twenty-First Century: Petroleum Potential in Offshore Trends
    GeoArabia, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2000 Gulf PetroLink, Bahrain Petroleum Potential in Offshore Trends, Egypt Egypt in the Twenty-First Century: Petroleum Potential in Offshore Trends John C. Dolson, Mark V. Shann, BP Amoco Corporation, Egypt Sayed I. Matbouly, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation Hussein Hammouda and Rashed M. Rashed, Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company ABSTRACT Since the onshore discovery of oil in the Eastern Desert in 1886, the petroleum industry in Egypt has accumulated reserves of more than 15.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. An understanding of the tectono-stratigraphic history of each major basin, combined with drilling history and field-size distributions, justifies the realization of the complete replacement of these reserves in the coming decades. Most of the increase in reserves will be the result of offshore exploration. In addition to the 25 trillion cubic feet already discovered, the offshore Mediterranean may hold 64 to 84 trillion cubic feet and the onshore Western Desert may contribute 15 to 30 trillion cubic feet in new gas resources. Many of the new fields are expected to be in the giant-field class that contains greater than 100 million barrels of oil equivalent. Challenges include sub-salt imaging, market constraints for predominantly gas resources and economic constraints imposed by the high cost of development of the current deep- water gas discoveries that are probably unique worldwide. The offshore Gulf of Suez may yield an additional 1.5 to 3.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, but it continues to be technologically constrained by poor-quality seismic data. Advances in multiple suppression and development of new ‘off-structure’ play concepts with higher quality seismic data should result in continual new pool discoveries.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Stone Quarry Landscapes In
    QuarryScapes: quarry stone ancient Mediterranean landscapes in the Eastern QuarryScapes: ancient QuarryScapes:stone quarry landscapes ancient stone in quarrythe Eastern landscapes Mediterranean in the EasternGeological Survey of MediterraneanNorway, Special Publication, 12 Geological Survey of Norway, Special Publication, 12 Geological Survey of Norway, Special Publication, 12 Abu-Jaber et al. (eds.) et al. 12 Abu-Jaber Special Publication, Geological Survey of Norway, Abu-Jaber, N., Bloxam, E.G., Degryse,P. and Heldal, T. (eds.) Geological Survey of Norway, Special Publication, 12 The NGU Special Publication series comprises consecutively numbered volumes containing papers and proceedings from national and international symposia or meetings dealing with Norwegian and international geology, geophysics and geochemistry; excursion guides from such symposia; and in some cases papers of particular value to the international geosciences community, or collections of thematic articles. The language of the Special Publication series is English. Editor: Trond Slagstad ©2009 Norges geologiske undersøkelse Published by Norges geologiske undersøkelse (Geological Survey of Norway) NO-7491 Norway All Rights reserved ISSN: 0801-5961 ISBN: 978-82-7385-138-3 Design and print: Trykkpartner Grytting AS Cover illustration: Situated far out in the Eastern Desert in Egypt, Mons Claudianus is one of the most spectacular quarry landscapes in Egypt. The white tonalite gneiss was called marmor claudianum by the Romans, and in particular it was used for large objects such as columns and bathtubs. Giant columns of the stone can be seen in front of Pantheon in Rome. Photo by Tom Heldal. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NORWAY SPECIAL PUBLICATION n Contents Introduction Abu-Jaber, N., Bloxam, E.G., Degryse, P.
    [Show full text]
  • Geotechnical Characterization of Subsoil Deposits at Cairo
    Missouri University of Science and Technology Scholars' Mine International Conference on Case Histories in (1988) - Second International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering 02 Jun 1988, 10:30 am - 3:00 pm Geotechnical Characterization of Subsoil Deposits at Cairo Mohamed A. El-Sohby University of Al-Azhar, Cairo, Egypt S. Ossama Mazen General Organization for Housing, Building and Planning Research, Cairo, Egypt Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge Part of the Geotechnical Engineering Commons Recommended Citation El-Sohby, Mohamed A. and Mazen, S. Ossama, "Geotechnical Characterization of Subsoil Deposits at Cairo" (1988). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 17. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/2icchge/2icchge-session2/17 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This Article - Conference proceedings is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars' Mine. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering by an authorized administrator of Scholars' Mine. This work is protected by U. S. Copyright Law. Unauthorized use including reproduction for redistribution requires the permission of the copyright holder. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Proceedings: Second International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, June 1-5, 1988, St. Louis, Mo., Paper
    [Show full text]
  • Increased Land Subsidence and Sea-Level Rise Are Submerging Egypt’S Nile Delta Coastal Margin
    Increased Land Subsidence and Sea-Level Rise are Submerging Egypt’s Nile Delta Coastal Margin Jean-Daniel Stanley, Mediterranean Basin (MEDIBA) Program, 6814 Shenandoah Court, Adamstown, Maryland 21710, USA, [email protected]; and Pablo L. Clemente, Dept. of Geographic and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA, [email protected] ABSTRACT sea-level rise responding largely to increased polar glacial ice melt and ther- Egypt’s Nile delta, only ~1 m above mal expansion of seawater associated mean sea level at the Mediterranean with global warming (Hansen et al., 2016). coast, is subject to uneven rates of sub- Less attention has been paid to other mergence. This is a response to several mechanisms that could presently play a factors leading to increasing land lower- substantial, or even greater, role in a del- ing (subsidence) of the northern delta and ta’s coastal submergence. The Nile delta’s adjacent seafloor, plus an accelerating margin in northern Egypt is examined rise in eustatic (world) sea level in the here with regard to its ongoing submer- Mediterranean. An average eustatic sea- gence by rising sea level (Shaltout et al., level rise of ~3 mm/yr represents only 2015), combined with the effects of land ~26% to 45% of total relative sea-level rise subsidence near its Mediterranean coast- measured along this margin. Three factors line and seafloor offshore (Fig. 1). The latter leading to subsidence are neotectonic low- include (1) effects of recent neotectonic ering, compaction of Holocene sequences, lowering of the delta surface associated and diminished sediment replenishment by with substrate displacement; (2) ongoing much reduced Nile flow to Egypt’s coast.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Egypt, the Ice Age, and Biblical Chronology
    The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism Volume 7 Article 37 2013 Ancient Egypt, the Ice Age, and Biblical Chronology Anne Habermehl Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings DigitalCommons@Cedarville provides a publication platform for fully open access journals, which means that all articles are available on the Internet to all users immediately upon publication. However, the opinions and sentiments expressed by the authors of articles published in our journals do not necessarily indicate the endorsement or reflect the views of DigitalCommons@Cedarville, the Centennial Library, or Cedarville University and its employees. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their work. Please address questions to [email protected]. Browse the contents of this volume of The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism. Recommended Citation Habermehl, Anne (2013) "Ancient Egypt, the Ice Age, and Biblical Chronology," The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism: Vol. 7 , Article 37. Available at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings/vol7/iss1/37 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Creationism. Pittsburgh, PA: Creation Science Fellowship ANCIENT EGYPT, THE ICE AGE, AND BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY Anne Habermehl, B.SC., 25 Madison ST, Cortland, NY 13045 USA KEYWORDS: Biblical chronology, timeline, Ice Age, ancient Egypt, Nile Delta, Nile River, archaeology of prehistoric Egypt, geology of prehistoric Egypt, Masoretic, Septuagint. ABSTRACT The history, archaeology, geography, and geology of ancient Egypt are examined with respect to the post-Flood Ice Age. It is shown that the Ice Age must have ended before the formation of the Nile Delta, and therefore well before the beginnings of Egyptian civilization and Abraham’s visit to Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Irrigation in Egypt's Fayoum Oasis State, Village and Conveyance Loss
    THE EVOLUTION OF IRRIGATION IN EGYPT'S FAYOUM OASIS STATE, VILLAGE AND CONVEYANCE LOSS By DAVID HAROLD PRICE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1993 Copyright 1993 by David Harold Price . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank the following people for their various contributions to the completion of this manuscript and the fieldwork on which it is based: Russ Bernard, Linda Brownell, Ronald Cohen, Lawry Gold, Magdi Haddad, Madeline Harris, Fekri Hassan, Robert Lawless, Bill Keegan, Madelyn Lockheart, Mo Madanni, Ed Malagodi, Mark Papworth, Midge Miller Price, Lisa Queen and Mustafa Suliman. A special note of thanks to my advisor Marvin Harris for his support and encouragement above and beyond the call of duty. Funding for field research in Egypt was provided by a National Science Foundation Dissertation Research Grant (BNS-8819558) PREFACE Water is important to people who do not have it, and the same is true of power. —Joan Didion This dissertation is a study of the interaction among particular methods of irrigation and the political economy and ecology of Egypt's Fayoum region from the Neolithic period to the present. It is intended to be a contribution to the long-standing debate about the importance of irrigation as a cause and/or effect of specific forms of local, regional and national sociopolitical institutions. I lived in the Fayoum between July 1989 and July 1990. I studied comparative irrigation activities in five villages located in subtly different ecological habitats.
    [Show full text]
  • Structural Geology of the Queseir Area, Red Sea Coast, Egypt
    STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY OF THE QUSEIR AREA, RED SEA COAST, EGYPT BY DAVID C. GREENE Gebel Ambog i Red Block Sea ('I 0 0 U'_.. o,.. 26°05' . " . ..... Southeast Block 1 N 1 km 34°15' '----' CONTRIBUTION NO. 52 DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY 8i GEOGRAPHY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERS~MASSACHUSETTS STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY OF THE QUSEIR AREA, RED SEA COAST, EGYPT By David Carl Greene Contribution Number 52 Department of Geology and Geography University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts August, 1984 Prepared in cooperation with the Earth Sciences and Resources Institute of the University of South Carolina ..... ..... ..... 1 N Figure 1. Return-beam vidicon image of the Quseir region. Precambrian basement is dark in color, with large granitic bodies slightly lighter. Platform sediment blocks and the Red Sea coastal plain are very light in color. The large block on the west is Gebel Duwi; the study area comprises the east­ central portion of the image (see fig. 3). ABSTRACT The Quseir area of the Red Sea coast of Egypt (26° Ol'N lat. to 26° lO'N lat.) includes three major lithologic groups: (1) a late Precambrian basement complex consisting of highly deformed volcanics and volcanogenic sediments metamorphosed to lower greenschist f acies; ( 2) Cretaceous to early Eocene platform sediments consisting of up to 600 m of well-bedded sandstones, shales and limestones; and (3) Miocene to Recent Red Sea coastal plain sediments consisting of fanglomerates, marls, evaporites and calcareous reef deposits. The Precambrian volcano-sedimentary units appear to have been deposited in an oceanic island-arc environment. Subsequent deformation by predominantly northeast compression resulted in development of a tight synform plunging approximately 60° toward S40E, axial planar regional foliation trending N35W, and a quartz vein set trending N45E.
    [Show full text]