The Elat Timna area, southern Israel: a unique geological window into 800 million years of geological evolution

ABSTRACT

The Elat/Timna area in Southern Israel provides an unparalleled opportunity for geological field studies due to its unique geology, spanning from the Neoproterozoic to the Holocene. The well-exposed rocks document the variability and evolution of three major processes: the creation of the Arabian-Nubian Shield during the Neoproterozoic, the accumulation of the Cambrian to Eocene sedimentary sequence, and the Miocene to Recent evolution of the Dead Sea Transform, an active plate boundary. The area’s geological diversity and extensive documentation of its geology have made it a particularly important study site for geoscience students. Recently the Geological Survey of Israel published new 1:50,000 scale geological maps of the area, updated by additional fieldwork and presented in a series of reports. This paper presents a brief geological overview and a description of six key locations, complete with maps and photos that are a showcase document to the area’s geological uniqueness as an excellently-exposed window into 800 million years of Neoproterozoic to Holocene evolution at the NE African plate.

KEYWORDS:

• Arabian-Nubian Shield
• Dead Sea Rift
• Geological History
• Elat-Timna Area

Acknowledgments

We thank Yair Rotstein, Bevely Katz, Navot Morag, Alan Matthews and Ram Weinberger for editing the manuscript and their constructive comments. We would like also to the Editor in chief and the three reviewers for their constructive comments.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.