THE EL-GHAB RIFT DEPRESSION IN SYRIA - ITS STRUCTURE, STRATIGRAPHY, AND HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT

The inner structure of the El-Ghab rift depression in Syria is analyze d for the first time using the drilling and geophysical data and the s tratigraphy of its continental deposits, and their correlation with th e K-Ar dated basalts is considered. The central part of the depression is formed as a graben filled with mainly lacustrine sediments whose t hickness is up to 1000 m. The upper part of the sequence contains fres hwater molluscan fauna. The time of formation of lacustrine beds, as d etermined from faunal evidence and K-Ar datings, is not earlier than t he early Pleistocene. Three stages are distinguished in the developmen t of the structure: (1) the prerift stage (Paleogene-early Miocene), ( 2) the anterift stage (late Miocene), and (3) the rift stage (Pliocene -Quarternary).