The Senonian:

The Senonian deposits in Sinai, Gulf of Suez and the

north Eastern Desert are generally marine in nature.
During the Coniacian, however, fluvial sediments
alternate with the marine deposits of the Gulf of
Suez, Southern Galala and north Wadi Qena. In these
areas, the Senonian is represented by two units, the
Matulla Formation (Coniacian-Santonian) and the
Sudr Chalk (Campanian-Maastrichtian).
 The relatively soft deposits of the Matulla
Formation of GHORAB (1961) are conformably
underlain by the hard fossiliferous dolostones and
limestones of the Wata Formation and are overlain
by hard brown chert bands and white chalky
limestones of the Sudr Chalk.

In its type locality to the east of Abu Zeneima, the

Matulla Formation attains 170 m in thickness and is
made up of three units: a sandstone dominated unit
at the base, glauconitic shale and dolostone
succession in the middle and a sandy dolostone and
marl sequence at the top.
The Sudr Chalk is a widely distributed rock unit in
eastern Egypt. It is characterized by its white colour
between the greyish green shales and marls of the
Esna Shale above and the yellow sandstones and
dolostones of the Matulla Formation below.

The greatest recorded thickness is at El-Markha Plain

along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Suez (220 m)
where it can be subdivided into its two members
suggested by GHORAB (1961).
The lower Markha Chalk Member is composed of
snow white partly silicified chalk intercalated by grey
and brown chert concretions and bands with some
dolostone and argillaceous limestone streaks.

The upper Abu Zenima Chalk Member consists

of grey, argillaceous and thin bedded soft
limestones.

The basal beds of the Markha Chalk Member are

highly fossiliferous with Pycnodonta (Phygraea)
vesicularis (LAMARCK) which indicates a
Campanian age for that member (KORA & GENEDI
1995).
In the north Western Desert, the Chalk deposits are
termed the Khoman Chalk which reflects a
widespread transgression and deepening of the seas
over Egypt.

Complete sections of the Khoman are found in

many of the basinal areas (Abu Gharadig, Um Barka)
where sedimentation was continuous, from the
Turonian to the Senonian. In these areas, the
Khoman is divided into a lower "B" member and an
upper "A" member.
 In southern Egypt (Stable Shelf area), the Taref
Sandstone is capped unconformably by marine
variegated shales, named Mut in the Dakhla Basin
and Qusier Variegated Shale in the Qusier-
Safaga district.

These vividly coloured shales are believed to have

been deposited in supratidal to intertidal flats which
were transgressed at times by marine incursions of
short duration (KERDANY & CHERIF 1990).
In the belt which extends from Dakhla Oasis in the west
(Abu Tartur Plateau) to Qusier in the east, the
phosphate beds are well developed and assume
economic importance.

They are named Duwi (Phoshate) or Formation .

To the south of this belt, the phosphate beds do not
form an important element in the formation and
become indistinguishable from the overlying
Dakhla Shale.
Economic aspects of the Cretaceous deposits:

- The Cretaceous sediments are important source and reservoir

rocks for oil and gas in the Gulf of Suez and the north Western
Desert petroliferous provinces.
- The Cretaceous clastics produced huge quantities of kaolinitic
clays used for ceramic, white cement, rubber, paper industries,
..etc..
- The Cretaceous phosphates are produced from the Duwi
Formation in the Nile Valley, Abu Tartur Plateau and in the
Qusier-Safaga district.
- Aswan oolitic iron ores were once exploited from the Cretaceous
clastics NE of Aswan.
-Cretaceous carbonates (chalks, limestones and dolostones) are
quarried and used in several industries. They are used as
buildingstones and are also crushed and used as a sub-base in
asphaltic roads.