(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) A team of geologists recently undertook a journey into Dhofar's mountains to explore the geological formations.
The trip, led by David Alsop, geological expert from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), and Dr Mohamed al Kindi, president of the Geological Society of Oman aimed to unravel the mystery about the origin and age of some of the types of rocks in the area. The trip was supported by Oman Air.
''The geology of the Dhofar mountains spans a long period of Earth's history and reveals a lot of important evidence about the evolution of the Arabian Plate, dating back to more than 700mn years. Evidence of life, represented by bacterial mats and domes, known as stromatolite are around 710mn years old and they are probably the oldest evidence of life found in Oman so far,'' said Kindi.
On the first day of the trip, participants visited the wilayat of Mirbat to study the components of the glacial sedimentary rocks that date back to 700mn years and are the oldest types of sedimentary rocks in the sultanate.
The participants also studied the nature and characteristics of the cracks and the crevasses in the area and tried to explain how they were formed.
The deposition of these rocks occurred during the Ice Age, which ended at least 10,000 years ago.
On the second day of the journey, participants visited Hadbeen in the wilayat of Sadah to study the forms of semi-oval rocks found on the beach and to try and explain the methods of erosion which led to the formation of these rocks.
Participants also studied volcanic dikes, igneous rocks and metamorphic units, as well as the types of minerals found in the immediate vicinity of Hadbeen.
After that, the team visited the sinkhole of Tawi Atair, one of the largest sinkholes in the world, which was possibly formed after the collapse of pre-existing cave's roof.
At the end of the trip participants visited the Museum of the Frankincense Land to know the history of the province.
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