Chapter Thirteen

Geology of
Lebanon
 FOLDS
There is a hierarchy of folds in Lebanon.:
• The Bekaa and the Anti-Lebanon are basically two very large anticlines
separated by a large syncline.

• A major fold that is widely seen runs from the western edge of the Chouf
up to the latitude of Tripoli inland of the coast. This feature is technically a
monocline and in places gives steep and even vertical dipping rocks.

• overturned beds at Nabi Ayoub along the southwestern part of the Baruk-
Niha ridge.

• Immediately east of the Yammouneh Fault a number of small NE-SW

trending anticlines occur.

• Other folds occur in the Tripoli area (i.e. at Jebel Terbol).

• in general, the brittle limestone rocks of the region have deformed more
by faulting than folding.
 FAULTS
Lebanon is cut by faults of every scale.
Yammouneh Fault
 is The longest fault in Lebanon that runs along the western margin of
the Bekaa and links the major fault of the Jordan Valley to the Ghab
Valley Fault of Northern Syria.

 This is a strike slip fault and is the Lebanese segment of the Dead Sea
Transform Fault .

 It originated around 12 to 10 million years ago as the boundary

between the Arabia Plate and the African Plate and has been moving
since.

 The result of this is that the Bekaa has moved some 50 km

northwards with respect to Mount Lebanon.

 The evidence suggests that the Yammouneh Fault has not moved for
many thousands of years; and whether it is dead or dormant is not
clear.
• The first main collision between
the Africa-Arabia Plate and
Eurasia give rise to the Taurus and
Zagros Mountain Ranges.
• the Arabia part of the African
Plate kept on moving north and
rifted away from the larger
African body.
• The spreading ocean that
resulted is the Red Sea and Gulf
of Aden.
• This movement has given rise to
the Dead Sea Transform Fault
zone.
Roum Fault
 It runs from near Marjayoun towards Beirut

 It is where most of the plate tectonic motion is going on now

 The last recent earthquakes in Lebanon have been along this fault
including the Chhim earthquake of 1956 that caused many deaths and
much damage.

 One slightly worrying point is that the Roum Fault seems to be on line
for Beirut. If it does have an active fault segment near (or even under)
the capital then that must raise the earthquake risk.

Serghaya Fault is apparently another major strike slip fault:

The Serghaya fault, located approximately along the Syrian–Lebanese
border, lays within 200 km.
Volcanoes
• There is no current volcanic activity within Lebanon.

• However within the last ten million years there was large-scale basaltic
volcanism both in the extreme north of Lebanon with the Homs Basalts,
which extend into the Akkar and in the extreme southeast where the
Golan and Jebel Druze volcanics occur round Mount Hermon.

Rock Types in Lebanon

• Almost all the rocks in Lebanon are sedimentary rocks and most of
these are pale limestones.

• much of it is so fine grained that it needs a microscope to show any

interesting features..

• The only igneous rocks are basaltic

• The only metamorphic rocks are confined to narrow bands around the
edges of the intrusions.
 JURASSIC

J4 – Kesrouane Limestone Formation

 1000-1500m thick formation
 Sequence of Limestones and Dolomites
 Highly Fractured-Highly Pervious
 Important Deep Aquifer

J5 – Bhaness
 50 – 100m
 Brown yellow limestones, basalts & shale

J6 – Bekfaya Limestone Formation

 60-80m thick formation
 Pale massive limestone
 Thin but important aquifer
 Cretaceous
C1 – Chouf Sandstone
 From <10 to 300m thick formation

 Ferruginous, white to brown, coarse to fine Sandstone with clays

 Some volcanics locally.

 Semi-Aquifer: Perched water tables locally – Springs…

 Characterized by round top (umbrella) pine trees growth.

C2a – Abeih Formation

 80-170m thick
 Brown-Green unit of variable Limestone, Marls and Sandstone.

C2b – Mdeirej Limestone Formation

 50m Thick formation
 Pale Grey massive limestone unit
C2b2 – C3 Hammana Formation
 Up to 1040 m thick
 Defined as the beds between the Mdreirej cliff LS and the base of the
Sannine Formation (C4).
C4 – Sannine Limestone Formation
 500-600m Thick formation
 One of the most important aquifers in Lebanon
 Joints, fractures and abundant karstificaiton features: channels, caves,
sinkholes, …

C5 – Maameltein Formation
 200-300m thick
 White grey marls – Marly Limestones
C6 – Chekka Marlstones
100-500m thick
 White Chalks and Marly Chalks.
 Some Phosphate nodules

q – Quaternary Formations
 Dune Sands and Sandstones (Ramleh)
 Lake Deposits
 Other
GEOLOGY
TYPICAL CROSS-SECTION
RESOURCES OF LEBANON

• Lebanon has only limited geological resources

• Iron oxides occur locally in the mountains

• The limestone has been used as a building stone and cement.

• The last two processes use wood and have contributed to the deforestation.

• The chief natural resource is water. The mountains give a high rainfall and the
porous fractured limestone makes an excellent aquifer which are refilled over
spring and early summer by the slow melting of snow.

• There is no oil known yet :

 The main problem seems to be that the heavy faulting has fractured any
possible oil reservoirs and allowed water to get in.
 However drilling programs have been minimal and oil may exist at depth.
 The narrow continental shelf means that any offshore oil fields, even if they
exist are not likely to be extensive.
GEOLOGIC HAZARDS OF LEBANON

• A main concern in Lebanon is that of earthquakes as the area is in an

active region. Beirut has been destroyed many times by earthquakes and
tsunami

• soil erosion: the steep slopes of Lebanon and the high rainfall means that
the soils, are easily eroded. Deforestation and the reckless building of the
last ten years, has made this problem even worse.

• the pollution and contamination of the underground water supplies by

sewage and agricultural chemicals.