Rift development in the Gulf of Suez and the north-western Red Sea: structural aspects and related sedimentary processes

Abstract

Field studies including extensive geological mapping carried out in the Gulf of Suez-north-western Red Sea provide original data concerning the geometry, kinematics and sedimentation of the rift, as follows:

• Structural trends inherited from the Precambrian- Palaeozoic basement determine four main groups of faults N140–N160 (Clysmic), N00–N20 (Aqaba), N100–N120 (Duwi) and N40–N60 (cross-faults).

• The association of these different trends during rifting gives a ‘zigzag’ structural pattern resulting in a complex geometry of fault blocks.

• The rift suffered a polyphased structural evolution, including an initial phase of wrenching, followed by different episodes of extensional tectonics. The arrangement of fault blocks is closely related to the initial episode of strike-slip faulting (number and size of blocks, direction of dip, etc.).

• Sedimentation is directly influenced by the structural evolution, enabling the definition of tectonic-sedimentary sequences which express both the structural and sedimentological originalities of rift evolution.

These features are compared with those of other rift systems in order to evaluate the possible broader scale importance of the proposed structural evolution.