Alkaline Rocks and Carbonatites of the World

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

Wadi Abu Rugheiwa

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Occurrence number: 
155-00-052
Country: 
Sudan
Region: 
Bayuda Desert intrusions
Location: 
Longitude: 32.17, Latitude: 17.77
Carbonatite: 
No

This is the largest volcanic field in the Bayuda Desert extending over 2500 km2 with over 500 eruptive centres. The centres are principally deeply eroded plugs with some dykes; there are only a few remnants of lava flows and, in the north, some basic tuffs. Most rocks are fine-grained but coarser facies occur in dykes. They are titanaugite- and olivine-bearing rocks which chemically prove to be tephrite, basanite and phonotephrite.

Age: 
A K-Ar determination on a plug 'basalt' gave 70 Ma (Barth and Meinhold, 1979).
References: 

BARTH, H. and MEINHOLD, K.-D. 1979. Mineral prospecting in the Bayuda Desert. Part 1, Volume A. Investigation of mineral potential. Technical Report Sudanese-German Exploration Project. Hannover (Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe). 336 pp. (unpublished)

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith