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The Al Wahbah Crater and Other Volcanoes (Harrat Kishb, Saudi Arabia)

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The Al Wahbah Crater and Other Volcanoes (Harrat Kishb, Saudi Arabia) Cent. Eur. J. Geosci. • 5(2) • 2013 • 254-271 DOI: 10.2478/s13533-012-0125-8 Central European Journal of Geosciences Geoheritage values of one of the largest maar craters in the Arabian Peninsula: the Al Wahbah Crater and other volcanoes (Harrat Kishb, Saudi Arabia) Research Article Mohammed R. Moufti1, Károly Németh1;2∗, Nabil El-Masry1 and Atef Qaddah1 1 Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia 2 Institute of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand Received 30 March 2013; accepted 26 May 2013 Abstract: Al Wahbah Crater is one of the largest and deepest Quaternary maar craters in the Arabian Peninsula. It is NW-SE-elongated, ∼2.3 km wide, ∼250 m deep and surrounded by an irregular near-perpendicular crater wall cut deeply into the Proterozoic diorite basement. Very few scientific studies have been conducted on this unique site, especially in respect to understanding the associated volcanic eruption processes. Al Wahbah and adjacent large explosion craters are currently a research subject in an international project, Volcanic Risk in Saudi Arabia (VORiSA). The focus of VORiSA is to characterise the volcanic hazards and eruption mechanisms of the vast volcanic fields in Western Saudi Arabia, while also defining the unique volcanic features of this region for use in future geoconservation, geoeducation and geotourism projects. Al Wahbah is inferred to be a maar crater that formed due to an explosive interaction of magma and water. The crater is surrounded by a tephra ring that consists predominantly of base surge deposits accumulated over a pre-maar scoria cone and underlying multiple lava flow units. The tephra ring acted as an obstacle against younger lava flows that were diverted along the margin of the tephra ring creating unique lava flow surface textures that recorded inflation and deflation processes along the margin of the post-maar lava flow. Al Wahbah is a unique geological feature that is not only a dramatic landform but also a site that can promote our understanding of complex phreatomagmatic monogenetic volcanism. The complex geological features perfectly preserved at Al Wahbah makes this site as an excellent geotope and a potential centre of geoeducation programs that could lead to the establishment of a geopark in the broader area at the Kishb Volcanic Field. Keywords: maar, tuff ring • phreatomagmatic • crater • scoria • pahoehoe • tumuli • geopark • geosite © Versita sp. z o.o. 1. Introduction Earth [1–3]. Such projects not only ensure that future generations can visit protected and preserved volcanic heritage sites, but also direct the focus of scientific research towards understanding the geological Geoconservation and geoeducation projects are value of these areas, particularly as they relate to increasingly popular in many volcanic fields on volcanic hazard education. One of the first steps in the protection and promotion of volcanic geoheritage ∗E-mail: [email protected] is to establish a comprehensive database of potential 254 M. R. Moufti, K. Németh, N. El-Masry and A. Qaddah geosites that can later be grouped and promoted in is conducting intensive research on understanding the various scientific and educational programs under the extensive intracontinental volcanic fields in western Saudi umbrella of regional and global geoparks [1, 4–9]. It is Arabia. In the first phase of the project volcanological clear that research on geoheritage sites that highlights and associated geophysical research was focused on the their regional and global value is an emerging area Al Madinah Volcanic Field (part of the Rahat Volcanic that is gaining greater respect from general end-users, Field), due to the fact that the youngest volcanic educators and researchers [10]. To identify and record the eruption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took place geological heritage of geosites and/or geomorphosites about 20 km from the holy city of Al Madinah in 1256 is a complex process that is based not only on the pure AD [14–17] (Figure 1). Research on understanding the scientific value of the site but also its regional importance eruptive mechanisms of volcanoes forming the Al Madinah in terms of understanding the region’s geological Volcanic Field also highlighted the need to define the and geomorphological evolution. Some workers have geological heritage values of these volcanoes in order highlighted the fact that this process is fundamentally to provide the impetus for this site to be developed driven by 1) the experts’ categorisation of the diversity of as a volcanic geopark and the information necessary to a geosite and geomorphosite and 2) the preconceptions create associated geoconservation, geohazard education and prevailing ideas of the local population concerning and geotourism programs [18]. the geodiversity and geoconservation value of the The Al Wahbah crater is a prominent volcanic landform specific site [11]. To define appropriately a geosite’s and part of an older volcanic field, the Kishb Volcanic or geomorphosite’s geological value requires both the Field, just south of the Al Madinah Volcanic Field geological and geomorphological expertise of scientists (part of the greater Rahat Volcanic Field). There is as well as a general understanding of the importance of new interest in understanding its formation, due to the each site in the eyes of the local communities [11]. This growing public awareness that volcanoes that formed means that to successfully initiate a geoconservation, due to violent explosive eruptions, either by magma and geoeducation, and geotourism project requires not just water interaction (phreatomagmatism) or magmatic gas promotion of the scientific value of the respective sites, expansion, are hazardous. While Kishb Volcanic Field but also a survey of the local community’s views on the and Al Wahbah crater are older than the younger part of selected sites. the Al Madinah Volcanic Field, they are still fairly young and, therefore, can provide clues to understand the full Al Wahbah crater in the Kishb Volcanic Field in western spectrum of volcanic hazards that might be associated with Saudi Arabia (Figure 1), with its dramatic landscape future volcanism along the western Saudi Arabian volcanic as a huge "hole-in-the-ground", has acted as a magnet fields. Near Al Wahbah crater, other well-exposed, but to visitors long before any unofficial or official plans more remote, explosion craters are known. It seems that were initiated to define and categorize its geological these explosion craters were formed by a combination heritage value. Al Wahbah crater has also played an of phreatomagmatic and magmatic explosive eruptions important role in the life of local Bedouin communities, and; therefore, they can act as excellent demonstration who utilized its sheltered location for terraced agriculture sites to show the variability of eruption styles that form in its upper crater wall (Figure 2A). Tourists started small-volume (monogenetic) volcanoes. In this respect Al visiting Al Wahbah crater long before it was "discovered" Wahbah crater is a key volcanic feature that can help by tourist authorities who built the local access road define one of the most potentially hazardous volcanic to its crater rim very recently. The region was the phenomena facing Saudi Arabia. Al Wahbah crater’s subject of geological mapping in the late 1980s which volcanic heritage and its exceptional landscape value has culminated in the production of geological maps, as (including its aesthetic value) provide the justification for well as scientific reports on the volcanic evolution and identifying it as a locally and internationally significant volcanic stratigraphy, of the Harrat Kishb (harrat means geosite that deserves future protection. black lava fields in Arabic) [12]. Al Wahbah crater later on appeared in a scientific report that highlighted its touristic potential without presenting the information in a way that allowed for it to be used to promote its geoheritage 2. Harrat Kishb value [13]. Currently, an ongoing international research project between the King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Harrat Kishb (also referred to as Kishb Volcanic Field Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabai and the University of - KVF) is a monogenetic volcanic field spread over an Auckland (AU) in New Zealand (aligned with Massey area of 6000 km2 [12]. Based on a limited number University (MU) in New Zealand), funded by KAU, of mostly K-Ar age determinations, the field has been 255 Geoheritage values of one of the largest maar craters in the Arabian Peninsula: the Al Wahbah Crater and other volcanoes Figure 1. A) Cenozoic volcanic fields in eastern Saudi Arabia form a broad zone of volcanic fields. In the northern part of Harrat Rahat is the location where the last volcanic eruption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took place in 1256 AD. A star marks the location of Al Wahbah crater. B) An overview map of Harrat Kishb from a Google Earth image. Two additional tuff rings (TR1 and TR2) are also significant volcanic craters. An additional volcano Aslaj (As) is a spectacular location of mantle xenoliths and could also be included as a significant geotope in the development of a geopark in the region. C) Google Earth image of the Al Wahbah maar crater (22◦54’4.18” N; 41◦8’23.30” E) shows its ”hole-in-the-ground” morphology. Please note the how the young lava flow in its northern side was diverted by the tephra ring. active since 2 Ma and its youngest volcanic landforms typical bimodal volcanic field that consists of volcanoes are inferred to be as young as 4.5-2 ka [12]. The formed by eruption of alkaline olivine basalt-basanitic Harrat Kishb is one of the extensive volcanic fields that magma, with minor hawaiite/olivine transitional basalts form a belt from Syria to Yemen, parallel with and and phonolitic magma [12]. The alkaline basaltic to about 150-250 km inland from, the Red Sea coastline basanitic suits commonly host mantle nodules, primarily (Figure 1).
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