Alkaline Rocks and Carbonatites of the World

Setup during HiTech AlkCarb: an online database of alkaline rock and carbonatite occurrences

Tarbtie - North (Gabal Tarbtie - North)

stripes

Occurrence number: 
049-00-032
Country: 
Egypt
Location: 
Longitude: 33.57, Latitude: 23.88
Carbonatite: 
No

The 3.5 km diameter northern Tarbtie structure is emplaced in a high plateau of Nubian sandstone, although the contacts are usually faulted. Ring-like features, particularly in the southern half of the intrusion, are expressed by wadis and fault and dyke patterns. Remnants of volcanic rocks including syenitic porphyries with sodic amphibole, lavas, agglomerates and other pyroclastic rocks are preserved in a few places. West of the intrusion a volcanic cone 360 m in diameter and rising 30-40 m above the wadi floor consists of a central stock surrounded by agglomerates and tuffs and vesicular rhyolite and trachyte. The rocks of the main intrusion are peralkaline syenites with quartz and sodic amphibole, referred to as nordmarkite by El Ramly et al. (1971), who also give some rock analyses; further trace element data are available in Soliman (1987).

Age: 
A K-Ar determination on nordmarkite gave 351±7 Ma (Serencsits et al., 1979).
References: 

EL RAMLY, M.F., BUDANOV, V.I. and HUSSEIN, A.A.A. 1971. The alkaline rocks of south-eastern Egypt. Geological Survey of Egypt, Paper, 53: 1-111.SERENCSITS, C.M., FAUL, H., FOLAND, K.A., EL RAMLY, M.F. and HUSSEIN, A.A. 1979. Alkaline ring complexes in Egypt: their ages and relationship to tectonic development of the Red Sea. Annals of the Geological Survey of Egypt, 9: 102-16.SOLIMAN, M.M. 1987. The younger granites and ring complexes of the Southeastern desert of Egypt and their relation to mineralization. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 6: 745-54.

Map: 
Fig. 3_53 Gabal Tarbtie - North (after El Ramly et al., 1971, Plate 8).
Location: 
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith