W6L6 Tabuk Qalibah Groups

Geology of Arabian
Shelf
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sedimentary Cover
Dr. Majed Turkistani
Outlines
Tabuk Group
Zarqa Formation
Sarah Formation
Hawban Formation
Qalibah Group
Uqla Formation
Qusibah Formation
Sharawra Formation
EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 2

Tabuk Group
Late Ordovician

Tabuk Group

Tabuk Group
1 Tabuk Group: Introduction
Rock Unit: Tabuk Group (Janjou & others 1996).
Origin of Name: from Tabuk Town.
Type Locality: In Jabal Habashi and Baq’a’

quadrangles.
Thickness: 254m.
Contact:
Upper: Disonformably overlain by Uqlah
and Qusiba Formations.
Lower: Disconformable above Qasim
Formation and Tayma Group.

Tabuk Group
2 Tabuk Group: Introduction
Lithology:
Glacial deposits of tillite, boulders of clay,
slumped medium to coarse grained sandstone.
Fossils: Devoid of Fossils.
Age: Late Ordovician
Depositional environments: Glacial and

periglacial sediments filling paleo-valleys.

Tabuk Group
3 Zarqa Formation (Ashgillian age: Late Ordovician)
Rock Unit: Zarqa Formation (Vaslet and others, 1987).
Origin of name: From Jal az Zarqa’, east of Wadi U‘aywij,

Baq‘a’ quadrangle.
Type locality: East of Wadi U‘aywij near Jal az Zarqa
Thickness: Zarqa Formation has maximum thickness of 115

meters at the type section.
Contacts
Upper: Disconformably overlain by Sarah Formation of
Tabuk Group.
Lower: Unconformably overlies the Qasim and/or older
formations of the Tayma Group.

Tabuk Group
4 Zarqa Formation (Ashgillian age: Late Ordovician)
Tillite deposits at the base of Zarqa Formation
Lithology: 3 facies:
Tillite at the bottom (2-9m), the matrix is coarse
sandstone or clayey siltstone, which is brown or
blackened by iron oxide.
Boulder Clay (dark green), clayey, siltstone.
Beige fine-grained sandstone (1-3m) filling
channels incised into boulder clay.
Boulder Clay from England, UK (source) Fossils: NO
Depositional Environment: Glacial environment.

Tabuk Group
5 Sarah Formation (Late Ordovician (Ashgillian–Hirnantian))
Rock unit: Sarah Formation (Williams and others, 1986) N
Origin of Name: Named after Sarah ridge in Al Qasim region.
Type Locality: At Sarah ridge
Reference Sections: South of Zarqah Formation and north of the

Type locality.
Thickness: 26m at the type locality, and 85m at the reference

sections. In general, it is estimated between 150 and 200m depends
on paleo-valley position.
Contact
Upper: Disconformably overlain by the Hawban
Formation of Tabuk Group.
Lower : Disconformably overlies the Zarqa Formation of
Tabuk Group or Qasim and Saq formations of Tayma
Group.

Tabuk Group
6 Sarah Formation (Late Ordovician (Ashgillian–Hirnantian))
Glacial striations and grooves formed during
Late Ordovician glaciation, Al Qalibah area. Lithology: medium- to coarse-grained sandstone,
homogeneous deposited as cross-bedded channels and
graded beds. Microconglomerate occurs at the base of the
Stratigraphic Column of Sarah Formation
channels. The sandstone at the top of the formation
contains slumps and overturned bedding
Glacial striations formed during late Ordovician glacier
advance.
Fossils: No in-situ fossils
Depositional Environment
Sarah Formation was deposited in a glacio-fluvial to
deltaic environment.

Tabuk Group
1 Hawban Formation (Late Ordovician (Hirnantian age))
Rock Unit: Hawban Formation (SSC, 2012). N
Origin of Name: It was derived from Qa‘ Hawban in

Ha’il region (Baq‘a’ quadrangle).
Type Locality: Check the map on the right.
Thickness: Reaches up to 25 meters thick.
Contacts
Upper: Disconformably overlain by Uqlah
Formation of Qalibah Group.
Lower: Conformably overlies Sarah Formation of
Tabuk Group.

Tabuk Group
2 Hawban Formation (Late Ordovician (Hirnantian age))
Stratigraphic Column of Hawban Formation

Lithology: 1. Complex, slumped, and mixed, darck green
boulder clay (23m), 2. Green to blue clayey siltstone
(15m) interbeded with fine to medium sandstone, 3.
Beige fine to medium grained cross-bedded sandstone
(14m), and 4. alternations of fine-grained ripple-marked
sandstone (2m) with flat bedding and white claystone and
secondary gypsum.
Fossils: Pollen.
Depositional environment: glacio-fluvial to deltaic

environment

Qalibah Group
Early Silurian

Qalibah Group

Qalibah Group
2 Qalibah Group: Introduction
Rock unit: Qalibah Group (Janjou and others, 1996)
Origin of Name: Named after the Al Qalibah Town.
Type Locality: Located in Al Qalibah quadrangle, northwest Saudi

Arabia.
Reference Section: Located in Tabuk quadrangle, northwest Saudi

Arabia.
Thickness: The thickness reaches about 729 meters in Al Qalibah

quadrangle and 992 meters at the reference section in Tabuk quadrangle.
Contact:
Upper: Qalibah Group is overlain disconformably by Tawil
Formation of Huj Group.
Lower: Qalibah Group unconformably overlies Hawban
Formation of Tabuk Group.

Qalibah Group
3 Qalibah Group: Introduction
Lithology: Sandstone, shale, clay, and siltstone.
Fossils: Brachiopods, graptolites, chitinozoans, and

acritarchs have been documented by many authors
Age: Silurian (early Silurian).
Depositional Environments: The lower Silurian clastic

deposits represent a regionally regressive sequence

Qalibah Group
4 Uqlah Formation (Late Ordovician (Hirnantian age))
Rock Unit: Uqlah Formation (Janjou and others, 1996)

N
Origin of Name: named after Wadi Al Uqlah in Al Qalibah
Quadrangle.
Type section: check the map on the right.
Reference sections: South of Qa’Buhan at Tayma quadrangle.
Thickness: 6m in Al Qalibah quadrangle, and 10m at the

reference section in Tayma quadrangle.
Contact:
Upper: Unconformable with overlain Qusaiba Frm.
Lower: Unconformable with underlying Hawban
Frm.

Qalibah Group
5 Uqlah Formation (Late Ordovician (Hirnantian age))

Contact between Uqlah and the overlain Qusaiba Frm.
Lithology: Off-white or pale-yellow, fine- to medium-

grained sandstone beds, having small- to medium-scale
cross-stratification or sub-horizontal bedding and
reworked clayey chips, small vertical burrows, and some
traces of bioturbation.
Fossils: Trace fossils
Depositional Environments: clearly shallow marine

environment.
Stratigraphic Column of Uqlah Formation

Qalibah Group
4 Qusaiba Formation (Early Silurian (Llandoverian age))
Rock Unit: Qusaiba Formation (Pocock and Kopp, 1949)
Origin of Name: named after village of Qusayba’ in Al Qasim N

region.
Type section: check the map on the right.
Reference sections: in Tabuk area between Jabal Mukayhil

and Tal at Zufayyir.
Thickness: 83m near Qusayba’ village, 290m in Al Qalibah

quadrangle, and 482m in the reference section.
Contact:
Upper: disconformable, earosional surface below
Sharawra Frm.
Lower: Disconformable over Uqlah Frm. And Sarah
Frm.

Qalibah Group
5 Qusaiba Formation (Early Silurian (Llandoverian age))
Lithology: Consists of five units:

1. Gray and white to pink clayey siltstone, laminated with ripple
and cross-bedding (25m).
2. 71m of Clayey siltstone intercalated with siltstone, find
sandstone (lenticular beds, cross-bedded) and gray-green
clayey siltstone with fine sandstone.
3. Silty claystone with fine-grained sandstone, homogeneous,
hummocky cross-bedding (22m).
Contact between Qusaibah and Sharawra Frm. 4. Silty claystone with several thin beds of fine-grained
sandstone (62m), there are horizontal burrows and trails.
5. Clayey siltstone coarsening upward, with several thin beds of
clayey sandstone beds, fossils debris, bioturbation (110m).
Fossils: Trilobites, graptolites, chitinozoans, and acritarchs.
Depositional Environments: represents a cycle of transgression and

regression deposits in a well-developed, distal, lower- to upper-offshore
Stratigraphic Column of Qusaiba Frm. domain .

Qalibah Group
Graptolites (Monograptus) in an outcrop of Qusaiba Formation.
Environmental factors controlling deposition of Qusaiba and

Sharawra formations (from Sherland and others, 2001; Mahmoud
and others, 1992)
General view of Qusaiba Formation in Tabuk area

Qalibah Group
4 Sharawra Formation (Early Silurian (Late Llandoverian age))
Rock Unit: Sharawra Formation (Roach, S.J., 1954)
Origin of Name: named after Jabal Sharawra in Tabuk area.
Type section: east of Wadi. Al Qalibah in Az Zubliyat area.
Reference sections: Between Jibal Zufayyir and Jibal al Midafi.
Thickness: 314.3m in type locality, 433m in Al Qalibah

quadrangle, and 510m in the reference section in Tabuk
quadrangle.
Contact:
Upper: disconformable overlain by Tawil Frm with
Jabal Sharawra, where the type section of the formation was derived
erosional surface (boundary).
Lower: Disconformable above Qusaibah Frm.,
unconformity is represented by reworked layer of lag-deposits.

Qalibah Group
5 Sharawra Formation (Early Silurian (Late Llandoverian age))

Stratigraphic Column of Sharawra Frm.
Lithology: Sharawra Formation was subdivided into four

formal members by Janjou and others (1996c), in
ascending order: Jarish, Khanafriyah, Nayyal, and
Zubliyat
Fossils: Tentaculites.
Depositional Environments: from shallow to deep

subtidal on a storm-dominated shelf to middle-to-
proximal upper-offshore to offshore/shore face
Tentaculites

Qalibah Group
4 Sharawra Formation: Jarish Member

• Jarish Member is named after Qian Jarish.
• Its basal sandy lag deposit containing orthocone

• fragment disconformably overlies the topmost
sandstone of Qusaiba Formation
• It consists of greenish siltstone and sandstone

containing fossil debris (trilobites, bivalves,
orthocones, and small gastropods).
• Consisting of bedding-parallel and U-shaped

burrows, bioturbation is well developed
• The total thickness in the type section is 79 meters.

Qalibah Group
5 Sharawra Formation: Khanafriyah Member

• Khanafriyah Member is named after Jibal al

Khanafriyah.
• This member consists of clayey siltstone and fine
sandstone with ball and pillow structures, trails and
burrows of Cruziana and Diplocraterion. Bivalves,
orthocones, and trilobite fragments occur at the base
of some beds.
• The sandstone becomes coarser and thicker near the
top, where a sandstone bench forms a tabular surface
capped by a hardground.
• The total thickness at the type locality is 110 meters.

Qalibah Group
4 Sharawra Formation: Nayyal Member

• Nayyal Member is named after Wadi Nayyal.

• This member consists of pale sandstone and
beige/green siltstone that becomes coarser and
thicker upward. Thin beds of fine-grained
sandstone have bases that are marked by red
micro-conglomeratic clasts and dark-red
phosphatic grains.
• The top is marked by rusty-brown, fine-grained
sandstone.
• At several levels, lenticular sandstone intervals
contain balland-pillow structures between a meter
and several meters in size (fig. 39).
• The total thickness at the type section is 125
meters.

Qalibah Group
5 Sharawra Formation: Zubliyat Member

• Zubliyat Member is named after Az Zubliyat.

• This member consists of coarsening-upward
sequences of pale to violet siltstone and fine-grained
sandstone, overlain by fining-upward sequences of
yellow/brown sandstone and sandy siltstone.
• A composite bench at the top is composed of rusty-
brown, fine-grained sandstone with an erosional
contact at the base marked by a zone of claystone
pebbles.
• It is overlain and slightly channeled by a quartz
pebble conglomerate at the base of Tawil Formation
of Huj Group.
• The total thickness at the type locality is 119 meters.

W6L6 Tabuk Qalibah Groups

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Geology of Arabian

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 2

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 3

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 4

Rock Unit: Tabuk Group (Janjou & others 1996).

Origin of Name: from Tabuk Town.

Type Locality: In Jabal Habashi and Baq’a’

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 5

Fossils: Devoid of Fossils.

Age: Late Ordovician

Depositional environments: Glacial and

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 6

Rock Unit: Zarqa Formation (Vaslet and others, 1987).

Origin of name: From Jal az Zarqa’, east of Wadi U‘aywij,

Type locality: East of Wadi U‘aywij near Jal az Zarqa

Thickness: Zarqa Formation has maximum thickness of 115

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 7

Boulder Clay from England, UK (source) Fossils: NO

Depositional Environment: Glacial environment.

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 8

Type Locality: At Sarah ridge

Reference Sections: South of Zarqah Formation and north of the

Thickness: 26m at the type locality, and 85m at the reference

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 9

Fossils: No in-situ fossils

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 10

1 Hawban Formation (Late Ordovician (Hirnantian age))

Rock Unit: Hawban Formation (SSC, 2012). N

Origin of Name: It was derived from Qa‘ Hawban in

Type Locality: Check the map on the right.

Thickness: Reaches up to 25 meters thick.

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 11

2 Hawban Formation (Late Ordovician (Hirnantian age))

Stratigraphic Column of Hawban Formation

Depositional environment: glacio-fluvial to deltaic

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 12

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 13

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 14

2 Qalibah Group: Introduction

Rock unit: Qalibah Group (Janjou and others, 1996)

Origin of Name: Named after the Al Qalibah Town.

Type Locality: Located in Al Qalibah quadrangle, northwest Saudi

Reference Section: Located in Tabuk quadrangle, northwest Saudi

Thickness: The thickness reaches about 729 meters in Al Qalibah

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 15

3 Qalibah Group: Introduction

Lithology: Sandstone, shale, clay, and siltstone.

Fossils: Brachiopods, graptolites, chitinozoans, and

Age: Silurian (early Silurian).

Depositional Environments: The lower Silurian clastic

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 16

4 Uqlah Formation (Late Ordovician (Hirnantian age))

Rock Unit: Uqlah Formation (Janjou and others, 1996)

Type section: check the map on the right.

Reference sections: South of Qa’Buhan at Tayma quadrangle.

Thickness: 6m in Al Qalibah quadrangle, and 10m at the

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 17

5 Uqlah Formation (Late Ordovician (Hirnantian age))

Lithology: Off-white or pale-yellow, fine- to medium-

Fossils: Trace fossils

Depositional Environments: clearly shallow marine

Stratigraphic Column of Uqlah Formation

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 18