Neotectonics and fluvial geomorphology of the Northern Sinai Peninsula

Large anticlinal ridges of Jurassic-Tertiary limestone in the northern Sinai Peninsula are part of the Syrian Arc Fold Belt, parts of which have been active intermittently from Late Cretaceous through the present. Recent uplift of the Syrian Arc Fold Belt is supported by quantitative indices of active tectonics including low values of mountain front sinuosity and, by recent seismicity, extending southwest past Cairo into the Fayoum Depression. The northern Sinai Desert has a climate similar to that of the adjacent part of the eastern Sahara. Sand sheets and dune fields cover its northwestern part, which is a depression extending from the Suez Canal to Wadi El-Arish. Numerous dry channels of palaeorivers and streams lead into this depression, where several temporary palaeolakes and flood overbank deposits have been identified. Some of the temporary pluvial palaeolakes developed behind natural dams formed by folds of the Syrian Arc, whereas others filled deeply-eroded fault traces. Migration of sand dunes may have blocked some channels, but the location of the dunes seems to be controlled by Recent uplift of parts of the fold belt, with the dunes residing in synclinal depressions and adjacent to fault scarps. The palaeolakes are correlated more with structures than with active dune fields. Wadi El-Arish abandoned a channel west of its present-day course, perhaps because of recent growth and uplift of the Gebel Halal Fold. This abandonment was synchronous with down-cutting of a gorge through Gebel Halal, which follows conjugate faults formed during uplift of an anticline. The presence of standing water during wetter climates in the past is supported by silt deposits and archaeological evidence of previous human habitation. The newly identified lake margin and fluvial sediments could be important targets for studying early-modern human and Neanderthal activities. In the eastern Sahara, cycles of pluvial periods that date back 320,000 years appear to correspond to interglacial stages. These indicate major global climate changes resulting in alternation of wet and dry climate episodes, which interplayed with local tectonic uplift to dramatically change the physiography of the northern Sinai.