MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERAL RESOURCES TO ACCOMPANY MAP GM-115C

DEPUTY MINISTRY FOR MINERAL RESOURCES

EXPLANATORY NOTES TO THE

GEOLOGIC M A P OF THE HA’IL QUADRANGL E, SHEET 27 E,

KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA’
cy

By E. Bartlett Ekren’, Denis Vaslet®, Alain Berthiaux’,

Paul Le Strat’, and Jackie Fourniguet’

CONTENTS

ABSIEaCE .. oii Page 2 Ma'acomplex .........ccooooioiiil 13

Introduction .............c..[Link] 3 Granodiorite... _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00... 13
Geographic setting .............[Link]. 3 Tonalite .........cooiveivmrcnnnnnnnn- 14
Physiographic setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0... 3 Quartzdiorite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Previous investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 4 Dayra’suite .........coiiiiiaiiiiiaiiiiaaes 14
Present work . . . . . iii es 4 ‘Ishsh monzogranite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Geologicsetting . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . oo... 5 Ha’ilgranite .......oovivermninnnnencenannn. 15
Proterozoic metavolcanic, volcanic, and sedimentary rocks 5 Granodiorite megabreccia .__...._.._ ....... 15
Hulayfah group ...... coon. 5 Mulayhah complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Nuf formation ....................oiiiien 5 Rughayghithsuite . . . . . . . . . . coool, 16
Andesiteand basalt . _ _ _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Jufayfahcomplex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . oe. 16
Marble . . . . . . . . . . iii 6 Abu Nimircomplex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - . . 17
Andesite and dacite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Suwayfilah porphyritic monzogranite . . . . . . . . . 17
Mafic paragneiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 6 Milah quartz monzonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Banana formation ............coiiiiiiana, 6 Granodiorite and monzogranite, undivided . . . . 18
Hadn formation ...........ovvmemnnnnonnnna.t. 7 Syenogranite, microgranite and granophyre . . . . . . . 18
Rhyolite and sandstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Biotite syenogranite and quartz syenite _ _ . . . . . 18
Rhyolite . . . . . . . . . . ..cciiiiiiiniiiinin,s E] Jarkuk microgranite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . 18
Conglomerate ..............[Link]. 8 Matali’ granophyre . . . . . . . . ..... cee... 18
Zarghat formation ......................L 8 Shugayq microgranite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Sandstone and siltstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Syenogranite ..........[Link] 19
Conglomerate ............[Link] 9 Ash Shu‘bah complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Limestone ..........[Link] 9 Diorite and tonalite _._.._ _..........[Link] 19
Mixed metamorphic and plutonicrocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Abanmatsuite . . . . . . . . . . . . coir 20
Granite and maficrocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . oo i l l 10 Kifantah complex ................cciiiins 20
Rhyodacite and maficrocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Rvudcomplex ......._......cciviinnnonn, 20
Zarghat formation and plutonic rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Rumayh alkali-feldspar granite . . . . . . . . . . 21
Proterozoic intrusiverocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Biotite and hornblende alkali-feldspar
Ultramaficrocks .._ ...........ccieiveiinnan. 10 [4.7:01711 J MM 21
Serpentinized harzburgite and wehrlite . . . . . . . 10 Alkali-feldspar granite and syenogranite _. 21
Sabihah serpentinite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Rakcomplex ..............cccovenuiononnnn 21
Juwayy Rashibsuite ...............c.c0inveeoon.. 11 AjacompleX ........oiiiiiii iia 22
Junaydah metagabbro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Aecgirine alkali granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Arkanorthogneiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Porphyritic alkali granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Metadiabase and diorite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Comendite porphyry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
-—

Sarrahorthogneiss . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . ........... 11 Arivedsonite-aegirine alkali granite . . . . . . 22

Jadid syenogranite . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . oa. 12 Biotite arfvedsonite granophyre . . . . . . . . . . 23
Murranstite . . . . . . . . . . . . ieee 12 Hornblende granophyre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Gabbro _ . . . . . . eee 13 Hornblende alkali-feldspar granite . . . . . . . 23
Mawqaqcomplex . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccc... 13 Marma’ granite . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . ot 23

IManuscript submitted January 1986; manuscript approved October 1986.

1).8. Geological Survey, Deaver, CO, U.S.A.
Bi de Géologiques et
Recherches BP 6009, 45060 Oriéans Cedex, France.
Minikres,
 Naysiyah alkali apogranite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 SIIUCIUre . . . . Lier 35
Biotite-hornblende granophyre . . . . . . . . . . 24 Proterozoic structure ...............ccivvunnn.. 35
Rhyolite porphyry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Folds and foliation _ _ . . . . .................. 35
Pegmatite ...._....................... 24 Ruwayy gneiss antiform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Dies iii ii ieiceaaanannen 24 Structure of the Hadn and Zarghat formations . 35
Aplite . . . . . . iii iieieiiiiaaaa. 24 Faults cities 36
Maficdikes .......ccoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieiina. 24 Dhabi fault system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Gabbrodikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cL..ioe... 25 Wrench-fault system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Granophyredikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Dikeswarms .........ccovverinnnnnnnn... 36
Rhyolite and rhyolite-porphyry dikes . . . . . . . . . 25 Volcanic canldrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Rhyolite and comendite dike swarms . . . . . . . . . 25 Paleozoic structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Undifferentiated dikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 TheHaitarch .............o............ 37
Paleozoicrocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ciciiiiei... 26 Metamorphism . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ea... 38
Yatib formation . . . . . . . . . . o i iii 26 Summary of geologic history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Age of the Yatib formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Proterozoic history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lL, 38
Saq Sandstone . . . . . . . . . . . iii. 27 Paleozoic history and sedimentary environments . . . . 40
Rishamember ..............cc.0iinienen. 27 Cambrian (?) to Early Ordovician {(Arenigian?) 40
Sajirmember . . . . . . . . . . . . i i i iain 28 Llanvirnian to Late Caradocian or Ashgillian (?) 40
Paleontology and age of the Seq Sandstone . . . . 28 Late Caradocian (or Ashgillian?) to Early
Qasim formation . . . . . . fete aitattiasasecaraan. 30 Llandoverian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Hanadirmember .................[Link]... 30 Ecomomicgeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 41
Kahfahmember . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Specialized granites ..................c000unn.. 41
Ra'anmember ........cvieiiiiinnncncannnn 31 Akashgranite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 41
Quwarahmember ..........cciivieivnnnne. 31 AjacompleX ......coiiiiiiii ieee, 41
Paleontology and age of the Qasim formation .. 31 Naysiyah alkali apogranite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Sarzh formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccc iiiiiiiann. 32 Niobium-, thorium, and rare-earth-bearing veins . . . 42
Cenozoic rocks and deposits .................cc0een.n 33 Chromite-, and nickel-bearing serpentinites . . . . . . . . 42
Alkali-olivine basalt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c c . c-.. 33 Massive magnetite ................000iiiiann. 42
Calcareous duricrust and travertine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ek) Industrial minerals ......._... ................ 42
Eoliansand .............[Link]. 34 Kaoliniticelay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Sheetsand ...........iiiiiiiiiiiiaaan 34 Glasssand .........ccoviiiiiinnrennnnnn.. 42
Dunesystems ..........cociiiiaienoncnanas 34 Diatomaceous earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Lacustrine deposits ................cciiiiainnn 34 Other industrial minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Khabra and sabkhah deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ce... 34 Omamentalstone ...........covivvrnvrnnrnass 42
Wadi alluvium and terraces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Gravelsheets .........coiiiiiirirriraranneanns 34 Referemces cited ....._...... ..._ _ . . _............. 43

Abstract — The Hi'il quadrangle is at the northern limit of system of northwest- and northeast-trending transcurrent faults.
exposure of the Proterozoic Arabian shield and spans the During Early Cambrian time, the shield was eroded to a
boundary between the shield craton and the Paleozoic peneplane. In Late (?) Cambrian time, marine transgression
succession of the northern Arabian basin. The Proterozoic of the peneplaned shield began with deposition of the
rocks were formed in response to activity along the Nabitah (1)Cambrian-Ordovician Yatib formation and Saq Sandstone
mobile belt, a major north-trending suture zone between in successively fluviatile, paralic, and marine environments.
converging crustal plates. Mafic plutonic rocks of the Juwayy The overlying Qasim formation of Ordovician age was
Rashib suite and associated metabasalt and meta-andesite of deposited in a shallow-marine tidal environment. A glacial
the Nuf and Banana formations resulted from magmatism advance at the close of the Ordovician produced the Sarah
during pre-collision plate convergence, before about 680 Ma. formation, consisting of tillite and related sedimentary rocks
Plate collision, 680 to 640 Ma, was associated with large-scale deposited in glacial paleovalleys. The Paleozoic succession
calc-alkaline magmatism, initially forming the Murran suite of was gently warped by the Ha’il arch, a broad regional north-
dioritic to granodioritic rocks, and subsequently the cogenetic trending uplift recurrently active from Permian(?) to Early
Dayra monzogranite suite and volcanic Hadn formation. Tertiary time. During the late Cenozoic, erosion bevelled the
Intracratonic activity began at about 630 Ma with Ha’il arch and exposed the Proterozoic rocks of the shield,
emplacement of the Rughayghith monzogranite suite and which were subsequently partly covered by basalt flows. The
deposition of the Zarghat formation, and culminated between sand sea of An Nafud covers much of the northern part of
about 620 and 565 Ma with the intrusion of several large the quadrangle.
complexes of highly-evolved alkalic and peralkalic granite. Economic mineral deposits are not known in the quadrangle;
These granites form the Abanat suite, and their emplacement metallic-mineral occurrences include tin, niobium, thorium,
marked the complete cratonization of the basement. The and rare-earth minerals in granites of the Abanat suite, and
major Proterozoic structural features are the result of east- minor subeconomic concentrations of chromium and nickel
west-directed principal stress and reflect the direction of plate in serpentinites; magnetite is locally concentrated in marble
convergence. The most prominent structures are the Ruwayy of the Nuf formation. Possible nonmetallic-mineral resources
gneiss antiform, on which the Dhabi fault zone was super include kaolinite, glass sand, diatomaceous earth, and
imposed, major east-west-trending dike swarms, and the Najd ornamental stone; potential aggregate resources are very good.
 INTRODUCTION

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING H&il city lies at the foot of the Jibal Aja massif, in
the east-central part of the quadrangle, at an elevation of
The H#&'il quadrangle (sheet 27 E; international index about 980 m above sea level. It is one of the largest
NG-37-4), bounded by lat 27°00° and 28°00’ N., and long cities in north-central Saudi Arabia and is an expanding
40°30" and 42°00’ E., occupies an area of approximately administrative center. Four major highways radiate from
16500 km? in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula the city and connect it to Al Madinah to the southwest,
(fig. 1). Qasim and Ar Riydd to the southeast, Jubbah to the north,
The climate is desertic and arid. Annual rainfall reaches and Baq‘d’ to the northeast. Numerous graded roads and
a few tens of centimeters and occurs mostly between desert tracks provide access to much of the quadrangle
November and March, resulting on occasion in temporary except for areas of rugged granite massifs and parts of
lakes that evaporate to form small sabkhahs. During An Nafud.
the winter the prevailing winds are from the north; Other than in the dune field of An Nafud, the
daytime temperatures are less than 10°C and overnight quadrangle contains numerous scattered villages. Those in
temperatures sometimes drop to about 0°C. In summer, the western and southern parts of the quadrangle derive
April to October, daytime temperatures commonly exceed water for human consumption and minor agriculture from
40°C and the scason is marked by prevailing southerly and hand-dug wells; those in the eastern and northeastern parts
southwesterly winds. derive much of their water from drilled wells that provide
Natural vegetation in the region is restricted to perennial irrigation for the cultivation of wheat and alfalfa. The use
shrubs and seasonal grasses. Agricultural activity is of ground water for farming is rapidly lowering the water
limited, although significant areas of cultivation have table, as little if any aquifer recharge is taking place in the
developed, since the mid-1970s, north of Jabal al Kutayf1 extremely arid climatic conditions (Kellogg and Stoeser,
in the northeastern corner of the quadrangle. 1985).
Drainage in the area is controlled by the rugged Jibil
. ~ |
3 -- = Aja range, and wadis, intermittently filled by runoff,
y radiate toward the west, northwest, east and northeast.
Many of the small wadis are blocked by the sands of
ho An Nafid and, where impounded, form small basins, or
nd T r khabras, filled by fine-grained alluvium. Wadi ad Dayra’,
the largest wadi in the quadrangle, has a northeasterly
King oN
trend. It drains an area of Proterozoic basement rocks
29° —
in the south-central part of the quadrangle, and passes
through the city of Hail, into an area of Phanerozoic
9 & avsiyn sedimentary rocks farther northeast.
2¢°

um Qe
PHYSIOGRAPHIC SETTING
The surface of the Ha’il quadrangle is mostly a desert plain
27° iN =n LAN
850 to 1000 m in elevation. The approximate northern
hu fourth is underlain by virtually flat-lying Early Phanerozoic
sedimentary rocks, which form local resistant hills such as
26° /
-Jibal ay Tuwal, Jabal ag Sabrawit, and Jabal al Jilf, and
Ash S p t
CSA low cuestas with scarps that face south-southwest. The
~ dune systems of the An Nafud occupy most of the north-
25° rr central and northwestern parts of the quadrangle, broken
.
by steep-sided inselbergs at Jibal Hibrin, Jabal al Kamin,
[Ld

Eel. A) Madnph Al Ow " Jabal al Marbiib, and the southern part of Umm Salman.
The southern three-fourths of the quadrangle are underlain
24 Jeb bere \\ ar Bown
by Proterozoic rocks, the resistant granites of which
29° 4a , 4° 42° 43° ry form rugged mountainous areas, including Jibal ar
FIGURE 1. — Location map of the Ha’il quadrangle Rumayh in the southwestern part of the quadrangle, and
(shaded). ! Jibal Aja in the east-central part. The highest elevation
in the region, about 1480 m, is along the crest of Jibal Aja. Greenwood (1973), Al-Laboun (1982), and Dixon (1982).
Roughly concordant summit elevations of the larger In 1966 and 1967 the exposed Proterozoic rocks of the
mountain areas of Proterozoic rock at Jibal Aja and Jibal quadrangle were included in a total-intensity magnetic and
Matial?’, and of Phanerozoic rock at Jibal Hibran, define scintillation-counter survey (Andreasen and Petty, 1974).
a widespread planar erosion surface. This surface lies The Phanerozoic succession was included in a subsequent
250-500 m above the widespread peneplain upon which airborne magnetic antl spectrometer survey in 1982 and
the Quaternary An Nafiid sands and sheet-flood gravels 1983 (Phoenix Corporation, 1985).
were deposited. According to Ekren (1984a) both surfaces Compared to other parts of the Arabian shield, few
undoubtedly predate the recent uplift of the Arabian mineral occurrences are known in the region. Matzko and
shield, evidenced by the overall castward trend of drainage Naqvi (1978) investigated dikes along the eastern flank
in the peninsula and by the presence of a major erosional of Jibal Aji that contain appreciable amounts of niobium,
escarpment facing the Red Sea coast. thorium, and rare-earth elements. Grootenboer and others
(1985) undertook regional reconnaissance for granite-
PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS related mineralization, and Kellogg and Smith (1985)
reported an investigation of tin mineralization in granite
The Proterozoic geology of the Hail region was first at Jabal Akash in the east-central part of the quadrangle.
investigated and briefly described by Brown and Jackson Chevremont (1982, 1984) investigated the base-metal
(1960). Later more detailed investigations resulted in a potential of the region, and Spencer (1983) assessed
reconnaissance geologic map of the northeastern Hijaz industrial mineral resources.
region at a scale of 1:500000 by Brown and others
(1963, 1978). Helicopter-assisted reconnaissance mapping PRESENT WORK
of the Proterozoic rocks in the eastern two-thirds of the
quadrangle, at a scale of 1:100000, was carried out This report is adapted (1) from a 1:250000-scale map
i n t e r m i t t e n t l y between 1977 and 1984, r e s u l t i n g in compilation and report by Ekren {1984d) on the
reconnaissance maps of the Al Hufayr (sheet 27/41 A; du Proterozoic geology of six 1:100000-scale geologic maps
Bray and Stoeser, 1984), Ha'il (sheet 27/41 B; Kellogg prepared by U.S. Geological Survey {USGS) authors, and
and Stoeser, 1985), Al Qasr (sheet 2 7 / 4 1 C; Stoeser and (2) from an unpublished report by geologists of the Bureau
Elliott, 1985), and Qufar (sheet 27/41 D; Kellogg, 1983) de Recherches Géologiques et Miniéres (BRGM) on the
quadrangles. In the western third of the quadrangle, Phanerozoic rocks in the northern part of the quadrangle.
reconnaissance mapping at a scale of 1:100000 in the Jibal The BRGM report was derived from previous studies,
Matalli (sheet 27/40 D) and Jibal Hibran (sheet 27/40 B) and from study of Landsat imagery and 1:60000-scale
quadrangles was carried out during 1983 by Ekren (1984a; aerial photographs, followed by ficld and laboratory work
b). Stoeser and Elliott (1979) and Stuckless and others including the detailed measurement and sampling of
(1982a, b; 1984a, b) sampled several of the better-exposed stratigraphic sections and an examination of the lithology,
granite masses as part of regional topical studies. These sedimentology, and biostratigraphy of the rocks. The report
authors reported on the geochemistry and distribution of was initially prepared by H. I. E. Hall, revised by
granitic rocks from Jibal Magali’, Jibdl Aji, and two P. L. Williams, and extensively revised and edited by
plutons in the southwestern part of the quadrangle. Rb-Sr P. R. Johnson; it benefited considerably from reviews by
and U-Pb geochronologic investigations of these granites H. M. Kluyver and E. A. Smith.
and other Proterozoic rocks in the quadrangle were The majority of the map units have been defined in
reported by Stuckless and others (1984a, b), Cole and accordance with the requirements of the Saudi Arabian
Hedge (1985), and Aleinikoff and others (1985). Earlier Lithostratigraphic Code (Deputy Ministry for Mineral
Rb-Sr results are included in Brown and others (1978). Resources Stratigraphic Committee, 1985), and plutonic
The Phanerozoic geology of the H a i l quadrangle is and volcanic rocks are classified according to the
featured on the 1:500000-scale reconnaissance geologic nomenclature of the International Union of Geological
map of the Northeastern Hijaz by Brown and others Sciences (Streckeisen, 1976). The term alkali, when used
(1963, 1978). Further stratigraphic studies in the area as a modifier to a rock name, indicates that the rock
were provided by Powers and others (1966), Powers contains a sodic pyrobole. The presence of this mineral
(1968), Al-Laboun (1982), and Le Strat and others (1985). indicates that the rock is geochemically peralkaline.
Other stratigraphic results of interest to the Cambrian to Details of the mineral occurrences referred to in this report
Devonian deposits of the northern Arabian platform are are contained in the Mineral Occurrence Documentation
found in Helal (1964, 1965), Selley (1970, 1972), McClure System (MODS) of the Saudi Arabian Deputy Ministry
(1978), and Wolfart (1981). The Ha'il arch, as defined by for Mineral Resources, from whom further information
Powers and others (1966), has also been studied by may be obtained.
 GEOLOGIC SETTING

The Ha’il quadrangle is underlain by late Proterozoic and Banana formations, intruded by mafic to intermediate
volcanic, sedimentary and intrusive rocks, and a rocks of the Juwayy Rashib suite, and a younger group
Cambrian(?) to Early Silurian succession of essentially of approximately coeval intrusive rocks comprising the
sedimentary rocks. Murran suite, Sarrah orthogneiss and Jadid syenogranite.
The Proterozoic rocks are part of the Arabian-Nubian Phanerozoic rocks occupy the northern fourth of the
shield, a region of complex geology that formed during quadrangle as a gently dipping homoclinal succession
a major episode of Late Proterozoic crustal accretion, and unconformably overlying deeply eroded Proterozoic rocks
constituted a stable basement on which the Phanerozoic of the shield. The succession includes the Cambrian(?)
sedimentary rocks were deposited. The Proterozoic rocks Yatib formation, the Cambrian(?) to Early Ordovician
crop out in the southern three fourths of the quadrangle, Saq Sandstone, the Llanvirnian to Ashgillian(?) Qasim
and predominantly consist of relatively young granitic formation, and the Ashgillian(?) to Llandoverian Sarah
intrusions that include monzogranite of the Rughayghith formation. These rocks are predominanily epiclastic and
suite and more evolved alkali-feldspar granites of the were deposited in fluviatile to shallow-marine
Abanat suite; the latter-named occur chiefly as a large environments. However, the Yatib formation includes a
batholith in the center of the quadrangle, where they form thin dolerite flow unit that represents the final episode
the topographically conspicuous Jibdl Aji massif, of magmatism associated with the formation of the late
Another major granitic unit comprises the Dayra’ suite Proterozoic and Early Cambrian rocks of the Arabian
in the southeastern portion of the quadrangle. The shield. In contrast, the Sarah formation consists of fluvio-
granodiorite and monzogranite of the suite are slightly glacial deposits that are part of a Late Ordovician to Early
older than the granitic rocks of the Rughayghith and Silurian Gondwana-wide episode of glaciation.
Abanat suites. They are commonly gneissic and Toward the end of the Cretaceous, the Phanerozoic
metamorphosed to the lower amphibolite facies. succession was gently warped about the north-trending
The Hadn and Zarghat formations are successions of Ha'il arch. Further movement along the arch occurred
relatively undeformed and unmetamorphoscd volcanic and during the Tertiary, at which time Miocene alkali olivine
sedimentary rock, deposited during and after intrusion of basalt was extruded from small, scattered circular vents.
the granitic rocks of the Rughayghith suite. The Hadn Quaternary surficial deposits overlie most of the
formation, in part, is the volcanic equivalent of some of the Phancrozoic bedrocks and parts of the Proterozoic
plutonic rocks of the suite. basement of the quadrangle.
Older units of Proterozoic rock in the quadrangle The deposits predominantly consist of eolian sand, part
arc preserved as discontinuous exposures between the of An Nafiid that is one of thc major sand scas of
batholiths of the granitic suites. They include deformed the Arabian Peninsula; elsewhere are small occurrences of
and metamorphosed volcanosedimentary rocks of the Nuf gravel, alluvium, and sabkhah.

PROTEROZOIC METAVOLCANIC, VOLCANIC, AND SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

HULAYFAH GROUP geochronologic data in support of the correlation are not

available, and the assignment requires considerable further
The oldest layered rocks in the H3'il quadrangle are the stratigraphic study.
Banana formation in the west (Quick and Doebrich, 1985)
and the Nuf formation in the east (Chevremont, 1982; Nuf formation
Kellogg, 1983). The two formations are not in contact and The Nuf formation was named by Chevremont (1982) for a
their stratigraphic relationship is unknown, although their sequence of strongly deformed and metamorphosed mafic
lithologic similarities suggest they are genetically related volcanic rock and limestone close to the eastern margin
and probably contemporaneous. of the quadrangle. The type area is the east side of Jabal
The Banana and Nuf formations are tentatively assigned Fitq. According to Kellogg (1983), the mountain had been
to the Hulayfah group (Kellogg, 1983; Stoeser and Elliott, mislabelled Jabal Nuf, an earlier variant of Jibidl Nawf, on
1985) on the basis of gross similarities with the Hulayfah the map of Brown and others (1963). Jibal Nawf is actually
as mapped and described elsewhere (Delfour, 1977; about 6 km west of Jabal Fitq. Nevertheless, the name
Delfour and Dhellemmes, 1980; Fairer, 1984). However, Nuf formation, having entered the literature, was retained
by Kellogg (1983) in the 1:100000-scale map of the metamorphosed to the amphibolite grade and is present
Qufar quadrangle in the southeastern part of the Ha'il as dark-gray to pinkish-gray banded gneiss. The rock is
quadrangle, and is retained in the present compilation, fine grained to very fine-grained, approximately dacitic in
despite the confusion regarding the name of the type composition, and composed of quartz, plagioclase, biotite,
locality (Kellogg, 1984). The thickness of the Nuf and subordinate hornblende. It contains relict quartz
formation is probably several kilometers or more (Kellogg, phenocrysts, recrystallized to quartz mosaics, and
1984), and the depositional environment for all the Nuf accessory magnetite, epidote, apatite, zircon, garnet, and
rocks was probably marine. calcite (Kellogg, 1983).
A n d e s i t e and basalt Mafic paragneiss
Andesite and basalt (nab) of the Nuf formation consist of Strongly metamorphosed rocks of predominantly mafic
dark-green and black, very fine-grained, porphyritic rock composition in the vicinity of Wadi al Bahrah, close to
that has been metamorphosed in the greenschist and, the eastern margin of the quadrangle, are compiled as an
locally, the lower amphibolite facies (Kellogg, 1983). undifferentiated unit of paragneiss (nu). The protolith of
Metamorphic foliation commonly is well developed, but the unit is principally inferred to be the Nuf formation,
vesicular pillow structures are locally preserved in the although the unit locally includes foliated quartz diorite
basalt. The volcanic unit is in contact with and, in and gabbro which are compiled as separate map units
places, encloses numerous, small, irregularly shaped masses (qd; gbh) where they are large enough to be shown.
of hornblende gabbro that are probably subvolcanic The paragneiss is fine to medium grained, and weakly
equivalents of the basalt. The basalt and andesite contain to strongly foliated. It is chiefly a hornblende-plagioclase
20 to 50 percent saussuritized calcic plagioclase paragneiss containing subordinate quartz, or an
phenocrysts and 10 to 40 percent orthopyroxene amphibolite where quartz is absent or sparse, and is
phenocrysts in a very cloudy, fine-grained matrix of probably derived from mafic volcanic rocks. Accessory
chlorite, epidote, hematite, actinolite (after pyroxene?) and trace minerals are epidote, chlorite, sphene, sericite,
calcite, and apatite. Quartz phenocrysts occur in some of apatite, clinozoisite, and garnet, and secondary biotite
the andesite and sparsely in some basalt. flakes occur locally parallel to the foliation. More felsic
An interbed of laminated basaltic metagraywacke was varieties of gneiss, approximately dacitic in composition,
identified in one locality in the east-central part of the contain assemblages of quartz, plagioclase, biotite, and
quadrangle. The rock is a fine-grained mosaic of calcic minor hornblende, in which quartz mosaics probably
plagioclase, acicular actinolite, and minor quartz and represent relict quartz phenocrysts. Accessory minerals in
epidote, with clusters of poikiloblastic hornblende the felsic paragneiss include magnetite, epidote, apatite,
porphyroblasts as much as 2 mm long (Kellogg, 1983). and minor zircon, garnet, and calcite. Hornblende-biotite-
garnet paragneiss occurs along the eastern and western
Marble contacts of the Mulayhah granite on H i d i b Mulaybah
A few pods and tabular bodies of sedimentary marble (m) (Jabal al Mulayhah). This rock contains euhedral
are interlayered with the basalt and andesite. The marble porphyroblasts of blue-green hornblende, as much as 5 mm
generally is medium grained, white to gray, and commonly across, resulting from thermal metamorphism. Calc-silicate
streaked white and gray. Pods of magnetite as much as gneiss containing a typical skarn assemblage of
several centimeters thick are locally present (Chevremont, approximately 40 percent diopside, 30 percent quartz, 20
1982), and in places the marble is tremolite-bearing. percent epidote, 10 percent grossularite, and 1 percent
apatite, crops out north of Jabal Fitq, but forms exposures
Andesite and dacite too small to show on the map.
An andesite and dacite unit (nad) forms the structurally
Banana formation
upper part of the Nuf formation in the vicinity of Jabal
Fitq. The rocks are predominantly black to dark green Rocks that are not contiguous with the Nuf formation,
and porphyritic. The matrix is aphanitic and commonly but are inferred from age and lithological similarities to be
vesicular; epidote and quartz fill the vesicles. Secondary genetically related and probably contemporaneous with
actinolitic amphibole occurs as small needles. The dacite it, are mapped as the Banana formation (bv) in the
generally has a vitreous luster and conchoidal fracture, central and western parts of the quadrangle. The Banana
whereas the andesite, which contains little or no interstitial formation was named and described by Quick and
quartz, is duller. The succession locally includes volcanic Doebrich (1985) in the Wadi ash Shu‘bah 1:250 000-scale
agglomerate or breccia that contains clasts as long as quadrangle (south of the Ha'il quadrangle) for a succession
10 em. of basaltic rocks that Quick (1983) had earlier named the
South of Jibal Nawf the andesite and dacite unit is Banana greenstones.
 The formation crops out in discontinuous exposures and (Quick, 1983) suggests strongly that the sequence is
as roof pendants and sheets in younger intrusions. Its base mostly marine.
is nowhere observed, and the formation is unconformably The Banana formation is at least 735+ 10 Ma old, based
overlain by the Hadn formation. Consequently the on the age of quartz diorite that intrudes the greenstones
thickness of the formation is unknown, although the in the Wadi ash Shu*bah quadrangle (C. E. Hedge, written
succession is thought to be at least several hundred meters communication, 1984).
and possibly several kilometers thick.
The Banana formation in the south-central part of HADN FORMATION
the quadrangle consists of volcanic and hypabyssal basalts The Hadn formation was named during preliminary
(Stoeser and Elliott, 1985), metamorphosed in the mapping of the area, as subsequently reported by Stoeser
greenschist facies but not noticeably deformed. They range and Elliott (1985), for exposures of welded tuffs and
from very fine-grained, quench-textured basalt to fine arkosic sandstones at Jabal Hadn, in the southwestern
grained, subophitic, slightly vesicular, pyroxene basalt. quarter of the 1:100000-scale Al Qasr quadrangle.
Major-clement analyses indicate that the rocks represent Chevremont (1982) adopted the name in this discussion of
olivine-hypersthene normative subalkaline basalts, the volcanic rocks of the H2’il area, and the name was
overall chemistry of which is comparable to ocean-floor retained by Kellogg (1983) and Quick (1983). Kellogg
tholeiitic basalt (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). Somewhat (1983) placed the Hadn in the Shammar group, a term
coarser-grained basalts consisting of plagioclase long applied to young volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks
phenocrysts as long as 5 mm in an ophitic groundmass, are in the northern shield (Hadley and Schmidt, 1980), but
interpreted to be hypabyssal intrusions within the volcanic the Shammar group is inadequately defined and no such
succession. Plagioclase in the formation has been relatively assignment has been made in the present compilation.
unaffected by metamorphism, but the primary pyroxene At its type area of Jabal Hadn, the Hadn formation
has been replaced by pale-green (actinolitic?) amphibole; unconformably overlies the Banana formation, mafic
no olivine was observed. Metadiabase (dib) is closely intrusive rocks of the Juwayy Rashib suite (dib), the Jadid
related to the Banana formation and may represent shallow syenogranite (sge), and tonalite of the Murran suite (to).
intrusions into the Banana volcanic succession. Elsewhere the formation overlies the Nuf formation, quartz
In the western part of the quadrangle, the Banana diorite associated with the Nuf formation and the ‘Ishsh
formation is mostly greenstones or greenschists that contain monzogranite (gri). A section exposed on Jabal Hadn has
chlorite, actinolite, epidote, and sodic plagioclase. Where an estimated thickness of 3 to 4 km, but the overall
relatively unaltered, the rocks are observed to include thickness of the formation is unknown because, although its
very fine-grained to fine-grained, subophitic, clinopyroxene base is well exposed, the top of the succession is nowhere
basalt that contains a few vesicles and locally includes preserved. Although the Hadn formation is relatively
plagioclase phenocrysts as long as 5 or 6 mm. A thin undeformed and unmetamorphosed, its internal
section of one of the freshest of the black basalts contained stratigraphy is largely unknown; thus it is shown on the
approximately equal amounts of clino-pyroxene and map as lithologic, not lithostratigraphic units.
plagioclase. A semiquantitative analysis of a similar fresh Whole-rock Rb-Sr isochron dating of 14 samples from
basalt by energy-dispersive XRF yielded the following the Hadn formation at the type locality yielded a
results : FeO, 10 percent; CaO, 15 percent; K,O, preliminary age of 613 Ma (R. J. Fleck, written
0.3 percent; TiO,, 0.8 percent; Zr, 60 ppm; Sr, 300 ppm; communication, cited in Stoeser and Elliott, 1985).
and Rb, 20 ppm (E. du Bray, written communication, However, geologic mapping demonstrates that the
1983). The analyzed rock is a basalt with an unusually high succession is younger than the ‘Ishsh monzogranite, dated
content of CaO. In several places, coarser grained rocks in at 652+7 Ma, and older than the Shatib monzogranite,
the succession are interpreted to be hypabyssal sills and dated at 63248 Ma (Cole and Hedge, 1985). The geologic
dikes of diabase or gabbro intruded into the basaltic lavas. relations indicate that the formation overlaps in age
In several exposures along an inferred northeast-trending with the Dayra’ suite. It is probable that the formation
right-lateral fault north of Al Fayfah the formation has represents the effusive equivalents of the granites of the
been extensively sheared, crushed, and altered in part to suite (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985).
brown carbonate that is probably mostly dolomitic. This
rock in thin section shows foliae of carbonate, and sheared Rhyolite and sandstone
and abundant serpentinite-suite minerals. Much of the Hadn formation is compiled as a unit of
No unequivocal pillows were noted in the Banana felsic volcanic and clastic sedimentary rocks (ha). The
formation in the Ha'il quadrangle, but the common unit is well exposed at the type section and consists of
association of basalt and thin-bedded sedimentary marble approximately equal amounts of interbedded volcanic and
in the 1:100000-scale Ghazzalah quadrangle to the south clastic rocks.
 The volcanic rocks include red-brown to purple welded- represent variations in facies, reflecting the proximity of
tuff (ignimbrite) and tuff breccia in units as much as the preserved deposits to one or more original volcanic
100 m thick, and subordinate rhyodacitic or rhyolitic centers (Quick and Doebrich, 1985).
porphyry flows. Rare andesitic and basaltic flows, and The rhyolite member includes volcanic units between 10
rocks that contain igneous textures and are interpreted and 50 m thick. The flow rocks are gray to brown
as sills, occur in the succession. The ignimbrites are rhyolite porphyry that contains volcanic lithic fragments
commonly flow banded and contain abundant feldspar and abundant quartz and oligoclase phenocrysts, as much
and quartz phenocrysts, and lithic fragments. Plagioclase as 2 mm in diameter, in a devitrified matrix of very fine
amounts to 20 percent of the rock; alkali feldspar is grained quartz and feldspar (Kellogg, 1983). In places the
less common. The lithic fragments include pumice, locally quartz and feldspar phenocrysts are resorbed and rounded
present as fiamme, and hypabyssal-volcanic and granitic (du Bray and Stoeser, 1984). The rocks are slightly
rock. Flow breccias are composed predominantly of metamorphosed and may contain epidote, sericite, chlorite,
volcanic clasts and lesser amounts of feldspar phenocrysts green hornblende, calcite, and rare fluorite and garnet.
and hypabyssal rocks including micrographic granophyre. They weather dull brown or red and are usually highly
Locally abundant beds of fine-grained, well-laminated tuff, fractured and present as angular blocks, Pyroclastic rocks
2 to 5 m thick, represent layers of air-fall and water-laid in the rhyolite member include weakly to very densely
ash, They are locally crystal rich, containing as much as welded ash-flow (ignimbrite) and crystal-lithic tuffs. These
30 percent plagioclase and hornblende phenocrysts, and rocks contain poorly sorted angular clasts of quartz,
in places are interbedded with arkesic sandstone. Mafic feldspar, and lithic fragments.
volcanic rocks in this member are represented in the type
area of the formation by rare flows, approximately 10 m
Conglomerate
thick, of pilotaxitic basalt or basaltic andesite (Stoeser and Small exposures of the Hadn formation southwest of Jabal
Elliott, 1985). Hadn that contain coarse- to very coarse-grained clastic
Clastic rocks include arkose, arkosic sandstone, and rocks are compiled as a conglomerate unit (hac). The unit
subordinate subgraywacke. The sandstone is moderately includes two beds of conglomerate, each about 40 m thick,
to well sorted and locally cross-bedded. Beds of sandstone overlying a basal flow of basaltic andesite or andesite about
interfinger with, or grade into, conglomerate and sparse 13 m thick and interlayered with a trachyandesite sill.
beds of shale or argillite. The clastic rocks form units as Lenses and beds of conglomerate elsewhere in the Hadn
much as 40 m thick that alternate with volcanic rock units succession are too small to show at the map scale. They
in the succession. include a bed, less than 10 m thick, at the base of the
In the type area, this member of the Hadn formation is Hadn formation on Jabal Fitq, and lenses of conglomerate
relatively undeformed. The rocks dip consistently between within the undivided rhyolite and sandstone (ha) member
30° and 60° to the north, and are weakly metamorphosed on Jabal Hadn.
in the greenschist facies. Farther east and north, parts of The conglomerate mainly consists of felsic volcanic and
the formation are more strongly folded, even overturned, granitic clasts as much as 15 cm in diameter in a medium-
and the metamorphic grade is higher. grained lithic graywacke matrix.
Chemical analyses of selected samples indicate that the
Hadn felsic volcanic rocks are predominantly rhyolitic in ZARGHAT FORMATION
composition (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). The flow rocks
have a normal to high Na,;O/K,O ratio and are comparable In addition to the well-bedded sequence of volcanic and
in composition to quartz keratophyre. Mafic volcanic rocks sedimentary rocks of the Hadn formation, Quick (1984),
in the succession include hypersthene-normative alkali in mapping the 1:100000-scale Zarghat quadrangle and
basalt and quartz-normative basaltic andesite. Quick and Deoebrich (1985), in compiling the
1:250000-scale Wadi ash Shu‘bah 1:250000-scale
Rhyolite quadrangle to the south, recognized a sequence of volcanic
and sedimentary rocks demonstrably younger than the
Those parts of the Hadn formation where felsic volcanic Hadn formation. The sequence unconformably overlies
rocks predominate are compiled as an informal rhyolite plutonic rocks that intrude the Hadn formation, and was
member (hat). In the vicinity of Al Jufayfah the member named the Zarghat formation for exposures near the town
mainly consists of lava flows, whereas mixed flows and of that name. The formation extends from the Wadi ash
pyroclastic rocks occur farther east and north of the Shu‘bah quadrangle into the southwestern part of the Ha'il
quadrangle, at Jabal Khashab. The stratigraphic quadrangle, and constitutes a succession of well-layered
relationships of the rhyolite and the rhyolite-and-sandstone rocks that were previously mapped as part of the Hadn
units of the Hadn formation are unknown. They possibly formation (Ekren, 1984a).
 Neither the base nor the top of the Zarghat formation Doebrich, 1985). Volcanic rocks have not been identified
is seen in the Ha'il quadrangle, but the thickness of in the Zarghat formation in the Ha"il quadrangle, although
the formation in adjacent parts of the Wadi ash Shu‘bah the succession includes numerous sills or sill-like masses of
quadrangle is thought to be on the order of 3 km (Quick fine-grained alkali-feldspar granite and porphyry.
and Doebrich, 1985). The formation itself has not been
dated, but its age is constrained by the radiometric ages of Conglomerate
the enclosing rocks. It is younger than the the Ash Shu'bah Conglomerate is locally abundant in the Zarghat
complex dated at 600+7 Ma (Stuckless and others, 1984a), formation, particularly adjacent to Jibal Dharaf near
and older than granite of the Aja complex, dated at the southern border of the quadrangle (Ekren, 1983a),
570+19Ma (Stuckless and others, 1984b). The Ash although it is compiled as a separate unit only (zc) west
Shu‘bah complex is mainly exposed in the Wadi ash and north of Jibdl Matili’ (Ekren, 1984a). The Zarghat
Shu‘bah quadrangle, but just crosses into the HAa'il conglomerate comprises massive, unstratified lenses a few
quadrangle as the syenogranite unit (sg). meters to as much as 100 m thick. The basal contacts
In the Ha'il quadrangle, the Zarghat formation mainly of the lenses are sharp and, in places, represent scour
consists of a sandstone and siltstone unit (zu) that crops out surfaces; at the upper contacts the conglomerate grades
along the southern border of the quadrangle, contiguous abruptly into sandstone. The conglomerate is poorly sorted
to basal conglomerate and mixed volcanic and sedimentary and consists of boulders as much as 30 cm long, cobbles,
rock units of the Zarghat formation in the Wadi ash pebbles, and granules, in an unsorted, mostly coarse-
Shu‘bah quadrangle (Quick and Doebrich, 1985). Similar grained sandstone and granule-conglomerate matrix. The
rocks farther north in the Ha'il quadrangle, in the vicinity larger clasts are well rounded whereas pebble-sized
of Jibal Umm ar Rijim are also tentatively assigned to fragments are angular to subangular. About 70 percent of
the Zarghat formation because of their well-bedded and the clasts are rhyolite and basalt; the remaining 30 percent
unmetamorphosed appearance, as are conglomerate (zc) are granitic, and range in composition from tonalite to
and limestone (zal) in the same area. syenogranite {Ekren, 1984a). Many of the volcanic clasts
in the basal conglomerate in the Wadi ash Shu‘bah
Sandstone and siltstone quadrangle were derived from the Hadn formation (Quick
Evenly bedded sedimentary rocks (zu) characterize most and Doebrich, 1985); other clasts include alkali-feldspar
of the Zarghat formation in the H3#'il quadrangle (Ekren, granite and arfvedsonite-bearing alkali granite.
1984a). Gray feldspathic sandstone and siltstone
predominate, locally alternating with conglomerate and
Limestone
limestone. Limestone tentatively assigned to the Zarghat formation
The sandstone and siltstone are thin-bedded and (zal) crops out southwest of J i b i l Matali’. The exposures
generally display low-angle cross-lamination. A few of the are surrounded by eolian sand of An Nafud, and contacts
thicker beds show foreset laminae that dip as steeply as between the limestone and other Proterozoic rocks in the
30°, but trough-type cut-and-fill fluviatile cross-bedding Hail quadrangle were not observed. Consequently, the
or high-angle eolian cross-bedding were not observed. The stratigraphic position of the limestone is uncertain, but
sandstone is poorly sorted and immature, and consists of it is tentatively assigned to the Zarghat formation because
coarse to fine sand grains and scattered granule- and similar limestone is interbedded with well-stratified
pebbled-sized lithic clasts in an argillaceous matrix. The sandstone assigned to the Zarghat formation in the vicinity
sand prains include feldspar and less than 30 percent of Jibil Umm ar Rijam, and also occurs within the Zarghat
quartz, whereas the lithic fragments comprise volcanic and formation in the Wadi ash Shu‘bah quadrangle (Quick and
granitic rock. In the Wadi ash Shu‘bah quadrangle, the Docbrich, 1985).
matrix of the Zarghat sandstone consists of fine-grained The limestone is mainly calcitic in composition. In part
clastic material, clay, and devitrified glass, and the the unit is thin bedded, and dark gray to black on fresh
sedimentary rocks appear to grade into clast-rich air-fall or surfaces, but over much of its exposure the rock has been
water-laid tuffs that may have been reworked (Quick and metamorphosed to white, indistinctly bedded marble.

MIXED METAMORPHIC AND PLUTONIC ROCKS

Two tectonic melanges in the eastern part of the rocks. An mixed-rock unit consisting of roof pendants of
quadrangle consist of volcanic rocks of the Hadn and Nuf the Zarghat formation enclosed in plutonic rocks occurs in
formations and associated mafic and granitic intrusive the western part of the quadrangle.
 GRANITE AND MAFIC ROCKS consists of blocks of orange-tan rhyodacitic to dacitic
volcanic rocks of the Hadn formation. The blocks are
A tectonic melange (gmm) at Jibal Nawf consists of lens- as long as several tens of meters and are suspended
shaped blocks of fine-grained granite, probably a sheared in a matrix of sheared and highly altered basalt, andesite,
phase of the Mulayhah complex granophyre, of silicic and gabbro derived from the Nuf formation and Juwayy
volcanic rock, probably derived from the Hadn formation, Rashib suite. Partly sheared dikes of approximately
of very fine-grained, silicic hypabyssal rock, and of a few andesitic composition are included in this map unit.
blocks of vesicular basalt, representing part of the Nuf
formation. These lithic fragments float in a matrix of olive- ZARGHAT FORMATION AND
gray to dark-greenish-gray, highly sheared diorite, gabbro, PLUTONIC ROCKS
and mafic volcanic rocks of the Nuf formation (Kellogg,
1983). Large blocks of Zarghat formation in the extreme western
part of the quadrangle float as roof pendants in a variety of
RHYODACITE AND MAFIC ROCKS granitic rocks that range in composition from tonalite to
alkali-feldspar granite. This mixture (zag) is not a tectonic
According to Kellogg (1983) a tectonic melange (rmm), melange; it is an undivided map unit compiled in an area
near As Sab’an in the southeast corner of the quadrangle, of extremely poor exposure.

PROTEROZOIC INTRUSIVE ROCKS

The greater part of the Proterozoic basement of the H i ' i l Serpentinized harzburgite and wehrlite
quadrangle consists of intrusive rocks. They form plutons
At Jabal al Junaydah, in the eastern part of the
that range in size and composition from small bodies of
quadrangle, serpentinized harzburgite and wehrlite (sph)
serpentinite to major batholiths of alkalic granite and range
crop ont as a shear-rounded block about 50 m across,
in age from older than 750 Ma to approximately 570 Ma.
enclosed by the Junaydah gabbro. The exposure is a dull
The cldest intrusions consist of serpentinized ultramafic
black, medium-grained, hypidiomorphic-granular rock that
rocks, and the youngest include rhyolite of the Jibil
weathers a reddish brown. Mesh structure is locally well
Aja batholith, of probable latest Proterozoic and Earliest
preserved in the serpentinized rock. The primary modal
Cambrian age. Younger plutonic rocks consist of Cambrian
mineralogy of the harzburgite is estimated as 55 percent
dolerite in the basal Saq Sandstone. The dolerite is part of
olivine, 30 percent orthopyroxene, 5 percent clinopyroxene,
the Paleozoic succession that unconformably overlies the
5 percent spinel, and 5 percent plagioclase (Kellogg, 1983).
basement, and is described later in the report.
At the present time serpentine, calcite, and hematite form
about 70 percent of the rock. Wehrlite in the exposure
ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS
consists of large serpentinized clinopyroxene phenocrysts
Exposures of serpentinite and serpentinized ultramafic rock that contain numerous inclusions of fine-grained
are compiled in this report as a unit of ultramafic rocks. serpentinized olivine. A 50-m-long north-trending zone of
They were formerly assigned to the Samra intrusive suite yellow marble in gabbro just south of the serpentinized
by Kellogg (1983) and the Ha’il uitramafic-mafic layered harzburgite was probably formed by replacement of
complex by Chevremont (1982). As originally defined, serpentinite by carbonate (Kellogg, 1983).
however, these named units also include gabbro and diorite
orthogneiss which, in this report and following Quick and
Sabihah serpentinite
Doebrich’s (1985) reinterpretation of the geologic relations, Highly sheared, black to dark-greenish-black serpentinite
have been re-assigned to the separate Juwayy Rashib suite. (spn), named here after Jabal Sabibhah, occupies an area
For this reason the terms Samra suite and Ha’il complex of approximately 6 km? in the extreme east-central part of
have not been used. The ultramafic rocks are strongly the quadrangle. Lizardite, containing as much as 5 percent
sheared, and shear bounded. It is inferred that they were disseminated spinel or chromite, is the probable serpentine
tectonically emplaced and that they are probably older mineral, and small pods and disseminations of chromite
than the Nuf formation (Kellogg, 1983). It is possible that are reported (Chevremont, 1982). Calcite and secondary
they correlate with the ‘Urd group of Delfour (1977; Quick quarfz are common in the serpentinite and the rock is
and Doebrich, 1985); in contrast the gabbro and diorite locally replaced by carbonate.
orthogneiss of the Juwayy Rashib suite intrude the Nuf The contacts of the Sabihah serpentinite with the
formation (Kellogg, 1983) and are therefore younger. surrounding Nuf formation are indistinct, but in part

10
consist of sheared stringers of serpentinite that extend into immediately north of Ha'il city. The gneiss, named here for
the country rock. Kellogg (1983) suggests a mantle source exposures along Wadi Arkan, includes diorite orthogneiss
for these ultramafic rocks and considers them to be the formerly assigned by Kellogg (1983) to the Samra intrusive
oldest in the quadrangle. The presence of numerous suite, and an unnamed quartz diorite of Kellogg and
inclusions of amphibolitized gabbro, mafic volcanic rocks, Stoeser (1985). The rock weathers to a terrain of moderate
and marble suggest that the serpentinite was remobilized to low relief and is covered by a light gray to greenish-gray
and diapirically emplaced in the country rock. regolith; it is intruded by monzogranite of the Dayra’ suite
(Kellogg, 1983).
JUWAYY RASHIB SUITE Although diorite orthogneiss is the most common rock
type, the unit varies in composition from gabbro to
Quick and Doebrich (1985) named the Juwayy Rashib trondhjemite. It is light gray to black, fine to medium
complex for mafic plutonic rocks genetically associated grained, and weakly to strongly foliated. The unit generally
with the mafic lavas of the Hulayfah group in the Wadi contains 5 to 10 percent hornblende, about 70 percent
ash Shu‘bah quadrangle. Similar Hulayfah-related rocks plagioclase, 2 to 10 percent quartz, and as much as
in the Ha'il quadrangle are accorded suite rank and 15 percent biotite. Accessory minerals include secondary
are subdivided into the Junaydah metagabbro, the Arkan c h l o r i t e , sericite, epidote, traces of titanomagnetite,
orthogneiss, and unnamed metadiabase and diorite. These sphene, apatite, and clinozoisite. V a r i a t i o n in the
rocks were formerly assigned to the Samra intrusive suite propertion of hornblende to plagioclase and quartz results
(Kellogg, 1983; Ekren, 1984d) and the Ha'il ultramafic- in well-developed gneissose bands that locally are strongly
mafic layered complex (Chevremont, 1982), names that folded. The style of deformation and the presence of lens-
have been abandoned in this report. shaped segregations indicate that ductile shearing occurred
in the gneiss during mineral segregation (Kellogg, 1983).
Junaydah metagabbro
The Junaydah mectagabbro (gbh) is named for exposures Metadiabase and diorite
at Jabal al Junaydah in the southeastern part of the Small bodies of metadiabasc and diorite (dib) crop out in
Ha'il quadrangle. The metagabbro also crops cut in the the southwestern part of the quadrangle as metamorphosed
southeastern corner of the quadrangle, near Jabal Fitq, and weakly foliated hypabyssal intrusions in the Banana
and as a major roof pcndant in the H a i l granite, south formation. Southwest of Jabal Hadn the rock consists of
and east of Ha'il city. It intrudes rocks of the Nuf metamorphosed clinopyroxene-hornblende diabase
formation and is intruded by metamorphosed mafic dikes containing as much as 40 percent hornblende but only a
and strongly veined quartz in the northern parti of the few percent clinopyroxene. Pale-green amphibole
quadrangle and by younger granitic rocks of the Dayra’ (actinolite?) extensively replaces the pyroxene and
suite. hornblende, and accessory opaque minerals and apatite are
The Junaydah metagabbro is fine to coarse grained, dark present {Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). Toward the western
grayish green to black, and equigranular to inequigranular. margin of the quadrangle the rock is propylitized biatite-
It varies considerably in modal composition, but is hornblende dioritc that contains 62 to 65 percent
characterized by a substantial hornblende content. plagioclase, 8 to 13 percent quartz, 20 percent hornblende,
Plagioclase (Ang-Ang) ranges from 35 to 75 percent, and 5 percent biotite (Ekren, 1984a).
resulting in mafic and leucocratic varieties of gabbro.
Partially uralitized clinopyroxene varies between 0 and 30 SARRAH ORTHOGNEISS
percent, and 15 to 50 percent of the rock consists of light-
green actinolite. Locally, at Jabal al Junaydah, the unit The Sarrah orthogneiss (gdb) is named here for exposures
includes troctolite containing as much as 10 percent olivine of bictite-hornblende granodiorite gneiss near Jabal Sarrah
and 5 percent orthopyroxene, both of which are partially in the southeastern part of the quadrangle (Kellogg, 1983).
serpentinized. The rock weathers to low relief, and consists of gray to
Cumulus layering was observed at the type area. pinkish gray, weakly to strongly foliated, compositionally
Elsewhere, the gabbro commonly displays a well-developed banded, commonly migmatitic gneiss. The unit mainly
metamorphic compositional layering that, in places, is consists of biotite hornblende granodiorite, but includes
deformed by isoclinal and open folds. Locally the gabbro is quartz diorite and monzogranite. The stratigraphic position
sheared and recrystallized into amphibolite. of the Sarrah orthogneiss is uncertain because its contacts
are poorly exposed, but it is inferred to predate granites of
Arkan orthogneiss the Dayra’ suite.
Orthogneiss (dgn) of predominantly diorite composition is The orthogneiss consists of oligoclase or andesine
widespread in the southeastern part of the quadrangle and plagioclase, commonly microcline potassium-feldspar and
as much as 8 percent each of hornblende and biotite. The syenogranite at J i b i l al Jadid was pervasively
biotite occurs as clots, fine-grained chloritized mosaics, and cataclastically deformed, which resulted in a distinct,
large secondary flakes oriented in the plane of foliation. shallow, eastward-plunging lineation. However, despite the
Accessory minerals include magnetite, zircon, sphene, deformation, the original medium-grained texture is
allanite, apatite, and garnet. preserved and exhibits an average grain size of about 3
The Sarrah orthogneiss is generally medium grained, but to 4 mm. Cataclastic fragments consist of coarse-grained
in places pegmatitic felsic segregations are present. The relics of alkali feldspar and plagioclase, in places rimmed
rock is polydeformed. It displays open-to-isoclinally folded with crush zones, in a monomineralic matrix of fine-
foliation planes, and boudins and fragment trains are grained quartz. On average, the felsic constituents include
observed locally. 12 percent plagioclase, 34 percent quartz, and 52 percent
microcline. Locally the rock is cut by very fine-grained
JADID SYENOGRANITE mylonitic seams and crushed quartz and feldspar. The only
significant mafic mineral is less than 5 percent fine-
Bodies of syenogranite (sge) that occur in three separate grained biotite, which formed as a secondary mineral
parts of the quadrangle are compiled as a single map unit, during deformation and metamorphism and is present
here named the Jadid syenogranite by extension of the in aggregates as much as 10 mm in length. Accessory
name informally assigned by du Bray and Stoeser (1984) minerals include sparse opaque minerals, allanite, fluorite,
to the exposures of syenogranite in the 1:100000-scale Al zircon, and aegirine-augite (du Bray and Stoeser, 1984).
Hufayr quadrangle. The other exposures include ‘foliated
The syenogranite near lat 27°30" N., long 41°00" E. is
syenogranite’ near lat 27°30 N,, long 41°00’ E. (du Bray a light pink, biotite-hornblende leucosyenogranite that had
and Stoeser, 1984), and ‘syenogranite’ in the vicinity of lat an original grain size of approximately 3 to 5 mm. This
27°00° N., long 41°00" E. (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985).
syenogranite lacks the intense lineation of the syenogranite
The age of the Jadid syenogranite is unknown. However, in the type area (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985), but it displays
like the Sarrah orthogneiss, it predates the Hadn a weakly to strongly developed cataclastic foliation. It
formation, and both are more strongly deformed than, and contains from less than 2 to about 5 percent biotite and in
may slightly predate, the mafic intrusive rocks of the places, as much as 5 percent hornblende.
Murran suite. In contrast to the syenogranite at Jibal al Jadid, the
The bodies of Jadid syenogranite vary in their degree of syenogranite in the vicinity of lat 27°00’ N_, long 41°00’ E.
deformation and range in composition from monzogranite is only weakly deformed (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). It
to alkali-feldspar granite (fig. 2). As reported by Stoeser intrudes the Banana formation and is unconformably
and Elliott (1985), and du Bray and Stoeser (1984), the overlain by the Hadn formation. The unit mainly consists
of a medium-grained biotite leucosyenogranite, but
includes alkali-feldspar granite and quartz syenite. String
to patch perthite, in lengths to about 1 cm, forms the alkali
feldspar, and the only mafic mineral is less than 2 percent
late interstitial biotite that has largely been altered to a
fine-grained mixture of chlorite, opaque minerals, and
minor epidote. Accessory minerals include sparse opaque
minerals, allanite, and zircon.

MURRAN SUITE
The Murran suite was named by Quick and Doebrich

7
Alkali-feldspar Pleglociasa
(1985) for granodiorite, tonalite, and monzodiorite in the
Wadi ash Shu‘bah quadrangle; it is younger than the
e Syenogranite Hulayfah group but older than the granitic rocks of the
+ Jarkuk microgranite Dayra’ snite. The Murran suite occurs in several parts of
o J a d i d syenogranite
the H3'il quadrangle and includes the Ma’a complex, the
F I G U R E 2. — Quartz : alkali-feldspar: plagioclase (QAP) Mawqaq complex, and an unnamed gabbro.
ternary diagram (Streckeisen, 1976) showing the modal Petrographically, parts of the Murran suite are similar to
composition, determined from stained slabs,of the Jadid members of the Juwayy Rashib suite, and some areas
syenogranite, and the younger rocks of the Jarkuk
of the present compilation may therefore be incorrectly
microgranite, and syenogranite units (Kellogg, 1983,
du Bray and Stoeser, 1984, Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985, designated. In general, however, the rocks of the Murran
Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). suite are massive 10 weakly foliated and only locally

12
cataclastically deformed, in contrast to older plutonic rocks hills, and its contact relations are unknown. However,
that commonly display both strong foliation and cataclastic the complex has been pervasively metamorphosed in the
deformation. Quartz diorite assigned to the Murran suite greenschist facies and locally the rocks are cataclastically
in the Wadi ash Shu‘bah quadrangle has been dated at deformed, on which basis it has been assigned to the
735110 Ma (C. E. Hedge, written communication, cited Murran suite.
in Quick and Doebrich, 1985), but this age seems more In general, the complex comprises plagioclase-rich
appropriate to dioritic rocks of the Juwayy Rashib suite. granitic and dioritic rocks, and a set of basalt dikes. The
A more probable age of the Murran suite is provided by plutonic rocks include hornblende-quartz diorite,
a date of 650 Ma (Cole and Hedge, 1985) obtained from hornblende-biotite monzodiorite, hornblende and biotite-
quartz diorite of the Laban complex in the Jabal Habashi hornblende tonalite, biotite granodiorite, and monzogranite
quadrangle. (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). The available data indicate
that the quartz diorite and tonalite are closely related.
Gabbro They either intergrade or pervasively intrude each other,
Small, isolated exposures of slightly to moderately and appear to be somewhat older than the granodiorite and
deformed and metamorphosed gabbroic rocks (gbo), monzogranite. The dike rocks cut all other components of
assigned to the Murran suite, crop out at (1) lat 27°25 N_, the complex.
long 41°15’ E., south-southwest of Jibil al Jadid; (2) lat
27°40" N., long 41°00" E., in the vicinity of At Tuwayyah,
Ma’a complex
and (3) at lat 27°37’ N., long 41°23 E., on the northwest In its type area in the Wadi ash Shu‘bah quadrangle, the
margin of Jibal Aja. At the first-mentioned locality, the Ma’a complex comprises dioritic to granodioritic rocks that
rock is metamorphosed olivine-clinopyroxene gabbro that are generally non-foliated (Quick and Doebrich, 1985).
occurs as a single 1.5-km by 2-km pluton (Stoeser and Quartz diorite, tonalite, and granodiorite map units (fig. 3)
Elliott, 1985). Despite replacement of approximately 40 to are assigned to the complex in the Ha’ill quadrangle, but,
50 percent of the rock by metamorphic chlorite, epidote, because they occur in isolated exposures, their
and amphibole, an equigranular relict texture is present stratigraphic relationships are unknown.
indicating an original average grain size of 2 mm. It
is estimated that the rock contained less than 5 percent Granodiorite
primary olivine, and approximately 30 to 40 percent Granodiorite (gd) forms two small outcrops along the
clinopyroxene and plagioclase. The gabbro intrudes the southern border of the quadrangle west of long 41°00" E.,
Jadid syenogranite (sge). and a large outcrop area farther northwest in the vicinity
Two outcrops of gabbro in the more northern locality
are dark gray to black, medium grained, and granular
textured. A single thin section indicated 57 percent
plagioclase, 23 percent clinopyroxene, 17 percent actinolite-
WA Quartz
\e
chlorite after clinopyroxene, and 2 percent opaque iron
oxide. The plagioclase is labradorite or bytownite and has . a +
a very strong bronze chatoyancy (Ekren, 1984b). ag
LJ
A
L] aa
The gabbro on the margin of Jibal Aja is interpreted - by * id »
Ld

to be a roof pendant within the Aja complex. It underlies a? * a

+
Ld 5 Y
approximately 2 km? and consists of medium-grained, 20 ale : + 20
2» *
hypidiomorphic-inequigranular gabbro. The rock contains v2 * - .
. o +
about 60 percent plagioclase as unzoned, subhedral, albite- [3 5
twinned laths, and about 35 percent uralite as laths as lL / / ANGE
much as 5 mm long composed of very fine grained 10 35 3s 10
Alkall-feldspar Plagioclase
aggregates after hornblende. Biotite occurs as anhedral a Mulayhah complex
aggregates and comprises approximately 2 percent of the « Hg'il g r a n i t e Dayra’ suite
rock. The roof pendant is intruded by dikes related to the s ‘lshsh monzogranite

Aja complex and, in places, is cataclastically deformed. Tonalite

+ Ma'a complex
Quartz diorite | P
Mawqaq c o m p l e x FIGURE 3. ~— Quartz : alkali-feldspar : plagioclase (QAP)
The Mawqaq complex (tdg) comprises a heterogeneous ternary diagram (Streckeisen, 1976) showing the modal
composition, determined from stained slabs, of intrusive
intrusive complex named after Mawqaq village in the
rocks of the Ma’a complex, and the Dayra’ suite (Kellogg,
central part of the quadrangle (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). 1983, du Bray and Stoeser, 1984, Kellogg and Stoeser,
The complex is poorly exposed in a series of small, isolated 1985, Stoeser and Elliott, 1985).

13
of Bi’ar al Bawbahiyah, at lat 27°35" N_, long 40°45" E. The displays mortar textures. Hornblende-biotite quartz diorite
rocks at these localities are generally undeformed although is the predominant lithology, but the unit includes
they are locally sheared and foliated. hornblende diorite and biotite-hornblende tonalite.
Granodiorite in the two southern exposures is light Plagioclase, which forms 62 to 65 percent of the rock,
pinkish gray and medium grained (Ekren, 1984a). The varies from about A n , to Ang. Highly strained quartz
outcrop lying farther to the west contains 22 percent comprises as much as 24 percent of the rock, and
quartz, 21 percent alkali feldspar, 47 percent plagioclase, potassium feldspar may constitute as much as 5 percent
and 10 percent biotite. It is well jointed and locally (Kellogg, 1983). Accessory minerals include opaque
sheared. The rock in the eastern exposure contains the minerals, apatite, sphene, garnet, clinopyroxene, and
same amount of alkali feldspar, but more quartz; it plots zircon. Alteration has produced assemblages of chlorite,
along the boundary of the granodiorite-monzogranite fields. epidote, actinclite, sericite, and minor calcite and hematite.
The eastern granodiorite is intruded by Jufayfah
monzogranite (mg) of the Rughayghith suite. DAYRA’ SUITE
Granodiorite in the northwest is light gray, medium to
coarse grained, and contains highly variable amounts of The Dayra’ suite includes intermediate and felsic calc-
biotite (Ekren, 1984b). The rock is commonly porphyritic alkalic intrusive rocks that crop out extensively in the
with plagioclase and (or) alkali feldspar crystals as much as southeastern quadrant of the compilation area. Many of
2 cm in length. The unit contains 30 to 35 percent the rocks of the suite are foliated and lineated; cataclastic
quartz, 7 to 22 perceni alkali feldspar, 44 to 53 percent features such as augen texture and mylonization are
plagioclase, and 2 to 15 percent biotite, and grades from common, The members of the suite are younger than the
tonalite 10 monzogranite in composition. mafic intrusive rocks of the Murran suite and older than
the massive granitic rocks of the Rughayghith suite. They
Tonalite range in age from as old as 652 Ma to younger than
Small cxposures of tonalite (lo) occur in two localities 632 Ma and, in part, are probably cogenctic with the
along the south-central margin of the quadrangle volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Hadn formation.
contiguous to exposures of the Ma'a complex in the Wadi The older members of the suite are approximately
ash Shu‘bah quadrangle (Quick and Doebrich, 1985). The contemporary with the Kilab monzogranite and the Laban
tonalite includes both leucocratic and mafic varieties, and complex mapped in adjoining quadrangles to the south
forms a low terrain of greenish-gray outcrops that weather and southeast (Johnson and Williams, 1984; Quick and
to smooth round surfaces. Docbrich, 1985).
The rock is medium grained to porphyritic, comprising The suite name has been adopted here to replace the
distinctive subhedral to euhedral plagioclase as much as name ‘Ha’il intrusive suite’ previously applied to these
1 cm in length enclosed by interstitial finer grained quartz rocks {Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985), in order to avoid use of
and mafic minerals (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). Hornblende the geographic name for both the suite and one of its parts,
and biotite are the chief mafic mincrals and form 8 to the Ha'il granite, and to avoid potential confusion with
18 percent of the rock in the approximate ratio 2:1 to 3:1. the earlier name *Ha'il ultramafic-mafic layered complex’,
The biotite is invariably completely replaced by chlorite, used by Chevremont (1982) for entirely different rocks.
although the hornblende is typically only mildly altered. Overall, the suite ranges in composition from quartz
Accessory menerals include opaque minerals, apatite, monzodiorite to syenogranite, but mainly consists of
sphene, and rare zircon. In general the tonalite is not monzogranite (fig. 3). Units of formation rank within the
significantly deformed, except for mild to moderate Dayra’ suite are the ‘Ishsh monzogranite, the Ha'il granite,
deformation of the quartz. an unnamed granodiorite breccia, and the Mulayhah
monzogranite.
Quartz diorite
Heterogeneous quartz diorite (qd) underlies large areas in
‘Ishsh monzogranite
the southeastern part of the quadrangle, and an area The ‘Ishsh monzogranite {(gri) is restricted to the
between Jabal Qura Sandiiq and Jabal al ‘Ugaylah, in southeastern part of the quadrangle. It was named after
the cast-central part. The unit occurs as xenoliths in the Wadi al ‘Ishsh by Kellogg (1983). The ‘Ishsh unit is
Ha’il granite and predates the ‘Ishsh monzogranite, but its predominantly a medium-grained, gray to pinkish-gray,
relationship with mafic rocks of the Juwayy Rashib suite is biotite-hornblende monzogranite (fig. 3) characterized by
not clear. a soda-rich plagioclase with a composition of A n y
The rock is light to dark gray, medium to coarse grained, averaging An,, (sodic oligoclase). The potassium feldspar is
and weathers to small, rounded, olive-gray to black blocks perthitic, and quartz displays undulatory extinction. Mafic
and slabs. It is locally foliated and in thin section usually minerals include as much as 7 percent biotite and 6 percent

14
blue-green amphibole (ferrohastingsite?). Accessory interpreted as probably younger than the ‘Ishsh
minerals in the ‘Ishsh monzogranite include opaque monzogranite.
minerals, sphene, zircon, apatite, allanite, and muscovite, Also assigned to the Ha'il granite are foliated granitic
In places, particularly near contacts with quartz diorite of rocks that occur as a large 6 km by 8 km roof pendant
the Ma’a complex, the granite grades into granodiorite and, in the Jibal Aja batholith. Feldspars in these rocks are
locally, such contacts are brecciated. Regional thoroughly altered, and their identity, and therefore the
metamorphism of the monzogranite produced a low-grade identity of the rock, is not everywhere certain. However, it
assemblage of chlorite, epidote, and sericite. is inferred that the roof pendant includes deformed biotite
The ‘Ishsh monzogranite contains numerous xenoliths, and hornblende-biotite tonalite, strongly oxidized granite,
or stoped roof pendants, of older quartz diorite, diorite, and cataclastically deformed leucocratic, alkali-feldspar
and gabbro from the Ma’a complex, and granitic rocks of granite (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). The granitic rocks are
monzogranite to monzodiorite composition. The intruded by a series of east-striking rhyolite dikes, some of
monzogranite is also cut by numerous dikes, the most which are porphyritic granophyres that are similar to the
prominent of which are mafic in composition and form host granophyre of the roof pendant. Inclusion of these
a northeast-trending swarm. These mafic dikes intrude foliated rocks in the Ha'il granite is arbitrary, but is
neither the Hadn formation nor the Ha'il granite, and implied by their heterogeneous composition.
establish that the ‘Ishsh monzogranite is the oldest unit of
the Dayra’ suite. The ‘Ishsh monzogranite itself has been
Granodiorite megabreccia
dated at 65215 Ma by Cole and Hedge (1985), and has Granodiorite megabreccia (gdv) crops out on the concave
been correlated with the Kilab monzogranite to the south side of an arcuate rhyolite dike in the vicinity of Jabal
and southeast. Hadbah in the south-central part of the quadrangle. The
position of the megabreccia with respect to the dike
Ha'il granite suggested to Kellogg (1983) that the granodiorite
The Ha’il granite (grh) forms a large, northeast-southwest- megabreccia is part of a comagmatic suite and represents
trending, elongate batholith, poorly exposed beneath a the root zone of a collapsed cauldron or caldera. In
pediment surface south and east of Ha'il city. First Kellogg's model, granodiorite magma stoped blocks of an
named by Kellogg (1983), the granite is predominantly overlying succession of hypabyssal and volcanic rocks.
monzogranite in composition, but ranges from quartz The megabreccia is composed of angular blocks, as much
monzodiorite to syenogranite (fig. 3). In the southern part as several tens of meters across, of rhyolitic volcanic rocks
of its outcrop area the granite is gray to pinkish gray, and granophyre in a matrix that ranges from granodiorite
medium grained allotriomorphic-equigranular; the mafic to monzogranite. The blocks locally compose as much as
minerals form fine-grained multigranular clots, indicating about 70 percent of the outcrop. The volcanic rocks are
recrystallization. Ferrohastingsite is common (Kellogg, tentatively correlated with the Hadn formation (hat) and
1983), and locally the granite contains garnet, fluorite and, the megabreccia is considered to be related to a volcanic
in one thin section, tourmaline. In the northeastern part source for the Hadn formation and hence contemporaneous
of the batholith the rock is generally light grayish-pink, with it.
medium grained, inequigranular, and consists of The rhyolite blocks are dark gray to pink, are locally
monzogranite or granodiorite. porphyritic and eutaxitic, and consist of a very fine-grained
Throughout the batholith, the Ha'il granite has been mosaic of quartz and feldspars (largely potassium feldspar)
deformed and metamorphosed. In its southwestern part, that encloses phenocrysts of potassium feldspar and rare
the granite exhibits mild to moderate cataclastic hornblende. The granophyric rocks are pink to maroon,
deformation and foliation, but toward the northeast, in the fine grained, and contain as much as 6 percent hornblende
vicinity of the Dhabi fault system, the rock is strongly plus small clots of biotite. Micrographic potassium feldspar
foliated and has been mapped as gneiss (Kellogg and constitutes 50 to 70 percent of these rocks. The granitic
Stoeser, 1985). The foliation tends to have a pronounced matrix rocks are light-gray to pale-yellow-tan, fine- to
cataclastic texture cast of the fault zone, where crush medinm-grained, hypidiomorphic-inequigranular grano-
features such as augen texture and mylonite are common, diorite to monzogranite. The potassium feldspar in the
whereas west of the fault zone the gneiss is more more felsic rocks is perthitic. One of four thin sections
thoroughly recrystallized and compositional banding is of this rocks unit contained 5 percent phenocrysts of
common. antiperthitic feldspar as much as 5 mm in diameter
Like the ‘Ishsh monzogranite, the Ha’il granite contains (Kellogg, 1983). Mafic minerals include 2 to 5 percent
many lenses of older foliated mafic rocks (gbh, dgn), but biotite and 0 to 2 percent green hornblende. Trace minerals
does not contain the pre-Hadn formation mafic dikes that include allanite, zircon, opaque minerals, apatite, sphene,
cut the ‘Ishsh. For this reason the Ha'il granite is and secondary epidote and chlorite.

15
 Mulayhah complex formation rank: the Jufayfah complex, the Abu Nimir
complex, the Suwayfilah porphyritic monzogranite, the
Previously mistransliterated as ‘Malayhah’, the Mulayhah Milah quartz monzonite, and an unnamed unit of
complex (Kellogg, 1983) crops out in the east-central part granodiorite and monzogranite.
of the quadrangle between Hidib Mulayhah, Jibil Nawf,
and Jabal Fitq. It comprises a pluton characterized by a Jufayfah complex
relatively undeformed monzogranite core (grm), a
Large, irregular, and commonly poorly exposed batholiths
peripheral cataclastic facies (indicated by a foliation
in the western part of the quadrangle are compiled in this
pattern on the map), and a granophyre member (grp). The
report as the Jufayfah complex (mg), named here for Al
complex is the youngest member of the Dayra’ suite,
Jufayfah village in the south-central part of the map area.
The relatively undeformed core facies of the Mulayhah
The complex predominantly consists of hornblende biotite
complex (grm) is a light grayish-pink to gray, medium-
monzogranite, but ranges in composition from granodiorite
grained, allotriomorphic equigranular rock that crops out
to syenogranite (fig. 4). The few contacts exposed indicate
as orange-brown domes and craggy hills. It consists of
that the complex intrudes the Hadn formation and is
hornblende-biotite monzogranite and subordinate quartz
intruded by the Abanat suite. Consonant with its relatively
monzonite and granodiorite (fig. 3). The plagioclase is
young age, the complex is generally undeformed and
sodic oligoclase (An,o_,,) and the potassium feldspar is
unaltered, although strained quartz and cataclastic zones
commonly finely perthitic, although homogeneous
are locally present.
microcline is also common. Mafic minerals include 2 to
The massive granite of the complex is typically
5 percent biotite and 0 to 2 percent ferrohastingsite.
recessively weathering, and forms flat pediment surfaces
The cataclastic facies of the Mulayhah complex consists
broken by inselbergs. Medium- to coarse-grained,
of sheared and foliated monzogranite, mainly along the
inequigranular and locally porphyritic rock predominates.
western and southwestern flanks of Hidab Mulayhah. It
The complex is pale pink to light gray or leucocratic, and
locally contains flaser gneiss and mylonite. The rock is
includes 25 to 37 percent plagioclase, 28 to 35 percent
reddish brown and has a falsely layered appearance due to
quartz, and 29 to 44 percent perthitic orthoclase. The
the presence of closely spaced joints that parallel the
plagioclase occurs as weakly-zoned anhedral laths of sodic
shear foliation.
oligoclase; the quartz tends to form grains as much as 1 cm
The granophyre facies (grp) of the complex occurs in the
in diameter; and the alkali feldspar is present as subhedral
vicinity of Jabal Fitq and Hidab Mulayhah. The rock is
phenocrysts as much as 1.5 ¢ m across. Quartz is locally
brick red, medium grained, equigranular, granophyric,
and approximately monzogranitic in composition. The
rock contains distinctive fine-grained clots consisting of
magnetite, biotite, sphene, and epidote and trace amounts
of, Quartz
\w
of primary muscovite, apatite, fluorite, and garnet
(Kellogg, 1983).
The Mulayhah complex is believed to be of post-Hadn
age (Kellogg, 1983).
» L)

20 20
RUGHAYGHITH SUITE
The Rughayghith suite is here named for Jabal
Rughayghith in the southwestern part of the Ha'il
10 10
quadrangle. It predominantly consists of calc-alkaline
Alkali-foldspar Plagioclase
granitic rocks and includes monzogranite and minor + Milah quartz monzonite
granodiorite that post-date the Dayra’ suite and Hadn o Biotite monzogranite

formation, and predate the Abanat suite. The Shatib o B’ir Abu Nimir pluton
imi mplex
a Akash p l u t o n A b u Nimir comp
pluton, part of the Abu Nimir complex (mgn), is dated at
x Shatib p l u t o n
63218 Ma (Cole and Hedge, 1985). Other plutons in the « Jufayfah complex
suite may be as young as 600 Ma, but in general the suite
is considered to be equivalent to the Idah suite, present in FIGURE 4. — Q u a r t z: alkali-feldspar : plagioclase (QAP)
quadrangles farther east in the Arabian shield, and dated ternary diagram (Streckeisen, 1976) showing the modal
composition, determined from stained slabs, of intrusive
between 620 and 614 Ma (Johnson and Williams, 1984; rocks of the Rughayghith suite (Kellogg, 1983, du Bray
Cole and Hedge, 1985). and Stoeser, 1984, Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985, Stoeserand
The Rughayghith suite is subdivided into five units of Elliott, 1985).

16
stained or recrystallized and feldspar is slightly sericitized. minerals, fluorite, zircon, allanite, and apatite (Kellogg and
Biotite, less than 4 percent, is the dominant mafic mineral; Stoeser, 1985). Along part of its northwestern contact
hornblende varies from a trace to 2 percent. The accessory with the Ha'il granite on Jabal Akash, the Akash granite
minerals include sphene, opaque minerals, apatite, allanite, has been strongly altered and a tin-tungsten-zinc-bearing
zircon, and fluorite. greisen is present.
Where present as roof pendants or as xenoliths in The Abu Nimir complex at Bi’r Abi Nimir consists of
younger granite, rock of the Jufayfah complex has been biotite monzogranite and granodiorite (fig. 4) containing
thermally metamorphosed; the feldspars have been calcic albite to sodic oligoclase, coarse-grained perthite,
oxidized, mafic minerals have largely decomposed, and the and slightly strained quartz (Kellogg, 1983). Biotite forms
quartz grains are considerably strained. At the northern 2 to 9 percent of the rock and the accessory minerals
end of Jibdl Aji, roof pendants of Jufayfah granite locally include opaque iron oxides, less than 1 percent primary
contain muscovite in addition to biotite. muscovite, apatite, and zircon. The granite forms a circular
pluton, approximately 10 km in diameter, fault bounded
Abu Nimir complex on its northeastern margin, that has largely weathered to a
The Abu Nimir complex (mgn}), named here after Bi’r Abi quartz- and feldspar-gravel plain.
Nimir, comprises subcircular plutons of monzogranite in Similarly weathered biotite monzogranite (fig. 4)
the eastern part of the quadrangle. They include the underlies most of the city of Ha’il. Originally assigned to
Shatib monzogranite of Kellogg (1983) at lat 27°18" N,, the Ha’il intrusive suite (Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985), the
long 41°40" E., the Akash granite of Kellogg and Stoeser granite is included here within the Abu Nimir complex on
(1985) at lat 27°30° N., long 42°00’ E., an unnamed the basis of its lithology and relatively high scintillation
biotite monzogranite at Bi'r Abd Nimir (Kellogg, 1983) counts, which suggest that it may be genetically related
and biotite-sphene monzogranite (Kellogg and Stoeser, to the granite at Jabal Akash. In general, the granite
1985) beneath and north of Ha'il city. The rock is medium is similar to biotite monzogranite compiled elsewhere in
to coarse grained, inequigranular and pale pinkish gray the Abu Nimir complex, but is distinguished by a sphene
to gray. content of as much as 0.5 percent. The granite intrudes
The Shatib pluton is a circular body of monzogranite, 8 foliated rock of the Junaydah metagabbro (gbh) and is
to 10 km in diameter, the peripheral zone of which forms a intruded by alkali-feldspar granite of the Aja complex.
ring of mountains that include Jabal Sha(ib and Jabal al
‘Uqaylah. The granite contains 25 to 43 percent quartz, Suwayfilah porphyritic monzogranite
35 to 43 percent microcline or finely perthitic potassium Porphyritic monzogranite (mgp) crops out north of the city
feldspar, and 10 to 25 percent albite or oligoclase. The of Ha'il, in the vicinity of As Suwayfilah, from which the
mafic and accessory minerals include 2 to 6 percent blue- granite is here named. The rock is poorly exposed over
green hornblende (ferro-hastingsite?), less than 5 percent a broad area of low relief and its contacts with adjacent
yellow to brown biotite, and trace amounts of sphene, intrusive rocks are obscured by alluvial cover. The
magnetite, apatite, zircon, and allanite. Samples of the monzogranite contains phenocrysts as large as 7 mm
pluton plot in the monzogranite field, close to the of quartz, plagioclase, and microcline, in a fine-grained
syenogranite boundary (fig. 4). Zoning in the pluton is groundmass. Biotite makes up about 2 percent of the rock
suggested by the hornblende to biotite ratios, which and hornblende about 1 percent. The rock contains trace
increase from about 2:1 in the core area to much higher amounts of accessory sphene (Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985).
ratios in the almost biotite-free rock at the craggy margin. Porphyritic monzogranite also occurs in the south-central
The rim area of the pluton is flow-foliated (Kellogg, 1983), part of the quadrangle, in the vicinity of lat 27°00° N.,
and its outer contact locally dips about 40° toward the long 40°30’ E. (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). This porphyritic
interior of the pluton. rock forms four separate plutons, one of which
At Jabal Akash, granite of the Abu Nimir complex demonstrably intrudes the Hadn formation. The
forms an elliptical pluton approximately 10 kim by 14 km distribution of these masses suggest that they constitute a
in diameter that straddles the eastern boundary of the peripheral facies to a central mass of nonporphyritic
quadrangle, and is partly concealed by the Phanerozoic monzogranite. The porphyritic minerals include alkali
Saq Sandstone. The pluton varies in composition from feldspar, plagioclase, and hornblende. About 5 percent
monzogranite to syenogranite (fig. 4) and appears to be hornblende is present in most samples, and about 5 percent
zoned, containing lesser amounts of potassic feldspar in its biotite in all samples (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985).
southern parts. Overall, the rock contains 30 to 35 percent
strain-free quartz, 43 to 52 percent coarse perthitic Milah quartz monzonite
potassium feldspar, 12 to 21 percent sodic oligoclase, 1 to Two plutons of biotite-quartz monzonite (gm) containing
3 percent biotite, and trace amounts of muscovite, opaque subordinate monzogranite, quartz monzodiorite, and

17
granodiorite (fig. 4) occur in the south-central part of the Biotite syenogranite and quartz syenite
quadrangle. The contact relationships of the plutons are not
Small stocks of biotite syenogranite and augite-hornblende
described in the literature, but Kellogg (1983) correlates
quartz syenite (sy) were mapped by Kellogg (1983) and
the quartz monzonite with the Jufayfah complex. The
Stoeser and Elliott (1985) in the southeastern part of
Jufayfah complex intrudes the Hadn formation and, on this
the quadrangle. The stock at lat 27°06" N., long 41°49’ E.
basis, the quartz monzonite is assigned to the Rughayghith
consists of brick-red, medium-grained, biotite syenogranite.
suite. [t is named here after Jabal al Milah. The
It contains 20 percent sericitized plagioclase, 43 percent
predominant rock is medium to coarse grained, grayish tan,
perthite, 35 percent quartz, and 2 percent altered biotite.
and allotriomorphic- to hypidiomorphic-inequigranular. [t
The stock at lat 27°10° N,, long 41°30’ E. is medium-
contains as much as 40 percent plagioclase ( A n y ) , 40
grained quartz syenite containing 4 percent hornblende, 2
percent potassium feldspar, and 15 to 29 percent quartz.
percent augite, and 1 percent biotite.
The potassium feldspar includes perthitic orthoclase and
microcline. Mafic minerals consist of several percent Jarkuk microgranite
chloritized biotite and subordinate hornblende; the
accessory minerals include opaque minerals, sphene, The Jarkuk microgranite (bgj), informally named by
zircon, apatite, allanite, and rare garnet. Stoeser and Elliott (1985) after Jabal Jarkdk in the west-
central part of the quadrangle, consists of varieties of fine-
Granodiorite and monzogranite, undivided grained granite. These include biotite graphic
A mixed assemblage of intrusive rocks (ma) belonging to microgranite, hornblende-biotite alkali-fcldspar
the Rughayghith suite is poorly exposed in the western microgranite, and hornblende-biotite syenogranite porphyry
part of the quadrangle in the vicinity of lat 27°15 N., (fig. 2). Fine-grained hornblende and biotite constitute less
long 40°45’ E. The principal rock type is granodiorite; than 3 percent of the rock, and the groundmass varies from
other rocks include monzogranite, fairly abundant aplite, micrographic to microgranular.
and scattered metamorphic xenoliths, probably derived With respect to other microgranite bodies in the
from the Hadn formation. quadrangle, the Jarkuk microgranite appears to bc
The granodiorite is gray to dark-medium gray, and relatively old because the granite is mildly deformed in
mostly medium grained, although some is porphyritic with outcrop, and clasts of Jarkuk-like microgranite occur in the
a fine-grained groundmass. Ln places, the rock is weakly Hadn formation conglomerate in the vicinity of Jabal al
foliated. The granodiorite includes 16 to 27 percent quartz, Khashab (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985).
7 to 17 percent alkali feldspar, and 45 percent plagioclase.
Matali’ granophyre
Melanocratic varicties contain 16 percent biotite and
14 percent hornblende, whercas lcucocratic varieties are Biotite granophyre (bgm) (Ekren, 1984a) forms three
marked by 7 percent biotite and only 1.5 percent plutons in the southwestern part of the Ha'il quadrangle.
hornblende. In some places, the granodiorite phases of The unit is named here for the largest pluton at Jibal
the unit appear to intrude the subordinate monzogranite Matali’; other plutons arc at Jabal Nafs and along the
phases; in other places the reverse is true. Numerous thin western boundary of the quadrangle at lat 27°15° N. as
veins of white ‘bull quartz’ as wide as | m are present part of a pluton more cxtensively exposed in the adjoining
throughout the unit. Although narrow, they weather to 1:100000-scale Jibal al Misma quadrangle (Ekren, 1984c).
cover broad areas with angular quartz fragments. The Matali’ granophyre is a pink, brown-weathering,
distinctly porphyritic rock that contains
SYENOGRANITE, MICROGRANITE AND glomerophenocrysts of alkali feldspar and single
phenocrysts of plagioclase, both as large as 1 cm. It also
GRANOPHYRE
contains slightly resorbed quartz as large as 4 or 6 mm
Bodies of syenogranite, microgranite and granophyre that in diameter. The groundmass is fine grained to very fine
are not clearly related to other units of intrusive rock in the grained, mostly micrographic quartz and alkali feldspar.
HAa’il quadrangle are compiled in this unit. Their contacts Biotite is the principal mafic mineral, but sparse altered
are concealed or poorly exposed, and the relative ages of amphibole is also present, and the rock along the western
the rocks are not certain. The Jarkuk microgranite appears border contains sparse late-phase kataphorite (?).
to predate the Hadn formation, whereas quartz syenite in The biotite granophyre plots in the syenogranite field
the southeastern part of the quadrangle, the Shuqayq and three chemical analyses from Jibal Matili® (Stuckless
microgranite in the center, and the Matali’ granophyre in and others, 1982b) show that the rock straddles the
the western part probably postdate the Hadn formation. metaluminous-peraluminous boundary of Shand (1949).
Small syenogranite bodies in other parts of the quadrangle At Jabal Nafs, the Matali’ granophyre intrudes the Hadn
are probably of several ages. formation.

18
 Shuqgayq microgranite Jabal ar Rukham, in the northwestern part of the -

quadrangle, is pink, medium grained, and contains 20 to

The Shuqayq microgranite (bgs) [Stoeser and Elliott,
25 percent quartz, 48 to 52 percent mostly perthitic alkali
1985] occurs as a series of well-exposed brownish-pink feldspar, 20 10 25 percent plagioclase, and 2.5 to 7 percent
outcrops of moderate relief in the south-central part of
oxidized hornblende.
the quadrangle. The relative age of the granite is poorly
A large, irregularly shaped pluton in the southwestern -
defined by contact relationships, but it intrudes the upper
part of the quadrangle between Jibdl Matali’ and Jabal
part of the Hadn formation and is intruded by the Marma*
Rughayghith is reported to change composition from
granite of the Aja complex.
syenogranite in its interior to alkali-feldspar granite on its
The rock varies from very fine-grained, porphyritic
western arm and eastern margins (Ekren, 1984a). The rock
granophyre containing plagicclase phenocrysts less than
is mostly coral pink on fresh surfaces and weathers pink-
1 mm long, to fine-grained porphyritic biotite microgranite.
brown and red-brown. It contains 17 to 37 percent quartz,
The microgranite consists of approximately 10 percent
45 to 60 percent perthite, 2 to 24 percent plagioclase, and
plagioclase and quartz phenocrysts (less than 3 mm)
2 to 5.5 percent amphibole. In the interior, the amphibole
in a fine-grained groundmass. The groundmass consists
has optic properties of common hornblende; in the exterior,
of euhedral to subhedral plagioclase and perthitic alkali as observed on the western flank, the amphibole is
feldspar enclosed in subpoikilitic quartz. Overall, the
probably ferro-hastingsite and kataphorite (?). The age
microgranite includes approximately 43 percent
relationship of this rock with the adjacent Jufayfah
plagioclase, 24 percent quartz, and 34 percent alkali
monzogranite (mg) is uncertain. In most places the
feldspar. The feldspars have been extenmsively sericitized,
syenogranite appears to intrude the monzogranite, but in
and the rock contains about 2 percent fine-grained brown
other localities, dike-like masses of monzogranite intrude
biotite that has been extensively altered to chlorite. The
the syenogranite. In several localities, where the granites
accessory minerals include apatite, opaque oxide minerals,
are in contact, a 1- to 2-cm-thick rind or seam of graphic-
and sparse zircon and calcite.
texturcd microgranite separates the two rock types.

Syenogranite Ash Shu‘bah complex

Several plutons of potassium-feldspar-rich granite occur Syenogranite (sgs) exposed on the southern margin of the
in widely scattered parts of the quadrangle. They are quadrangle at lat 27°00° N., 41°02" E. is part of a
compiled as a single map unit of syenogranite (sg) [fig. 3]. large pluton of the Ash Shu'bah complex that occurs in
although they may be of differing ages. the Wadi ash Shu'bah quadrangle (Quick and Doebrich,
Syenogranite, mapped by Kellogg and Stoeser (1985) 1985). The granitic rock is mostly syenogranite that
northeast of the city of Ha’il at about lat 27°35" N., long contains as much as 7 percent biotite. The Ash Shu‘bah
41°48 E., is pink, medium to coarse grained, complex includes the Ba‘gham granite, dated at 600£7 Ma
inequigranular and leucocratic; it contains 38 to 40 percent (Stuckless and others, 1984a). The complcx intrudes the
quartz, 43 to 49 percent perthite, trace to | percent biotite Hadn formation and is unconformably overlain by the
and opaque minerals, and trace amounts of sphene and Zarghat formation.
zircon. This rock intrudes banded early monzogranite of
the Dayra’ suite and is intruded by west-northwest-trending DIORITE AND TONALITE
granitic dikes.
Outcrops of syenogranite were mapped by Kellogg Small isolated bodies of diorite and tonalite (td) in the
(1983) on either side of the Dhabi thrust-fault system at central and southwestern parts of the quadrangle postdate
about last 27°25" N. He inferred that the rock was the Zarghat formation and the alkali-feldspar granite of
pre-Hadn formation in age. It is pinkish gray to brick the Ru'ud complex, one of the early members of the
red, medium grained, equigranular, and leucocratic. The Abanat suite, but is older than the Aja complex of the
plutons possibly represent a potassium-rich facies of the Abanat suite.
Ha’il granite (Kellogg, 1983). Diorite forms hypabyssal intrusions in alkali-feldspar
Small stocks of biotite syenogranite and hornblende- granite (afg) in the central part of the quadrangle, occurs
aupite quartz syenite are in the south-central part of the as roof pendants in the alkali-feldspar granite batholith of
quadrangle in the vicinity of Jabal Hadbah. They are brick Jibdl Aji, and is present as small intrusions in the Shuqayq
red, medium grained, allotriomorphic- to hypidiomorphic- microgranite (mgs) {Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985; Stoeser
equigranular. The mafic minerals include 2 percent biotite, and Elliott, 1985). Most of these bodies are too small
altered to hematite and chlorite, 4 percent hornblende, and to show at the map scale. They consist of equigranular,
2 percent augite (Kellogg, 1983; Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). fine-grained diorite or quartz diorite. Mafic minerals are
A syenogranite pluton mapped by Ekren (1984b) at abundant and include 40 to 50 percent biotite, 7 to 8

19
percent hornblende and, rarely, a few percent Stoeser (1985). The complex crops out as roof pendants
clinopyroxene. in the Aja complex on the northeastern and northwestern
Tonalite assigned to this unit intrudes conglomerate and flanks of Jibdl Aja, and forms several plutons in the
marble of the Zarghat formation in the southwestern southwestern part of the quadrangle.
part of the quadrangle. On this basis the tonalite is For the most part the rock is a typical hypersolvus alkali-
differentiated from tonalite of the Ma’a complex (to), feldspar granite, but includes syenogranite and quartz
although lithologically the two tonalite units are very syenite (fig. 5). It is orange-pink, medium- to coarse-
similar (Ekren, 1984a). Leucocratic varieties of tonalite grained, and typically consists of 59 to 69 percent alkali-
near the southern border of the quadrangle at lat 27°03’ N., feldspar, 19 to 31 percent quartz, and 2 to 4 percent
long 40°50’ E. contain 35 to 52 percent quartz, 3 percent plagioclase feldspar. The alkali feldspar is chiefly perthite
biotite, and no other mafic minerals. Farther northwest and forms anhedral to subhedral grains as much as
the tonalite is melanocratic and contains approximately 7 mm long, whereas the plagioclase tends to form a late-
17 percent mafic minerals, principally as actinolite and interstitial phase of the rock. The principal, and commonly
chlorite pseudomorphs after hornblende. the only, mafic mineral is amphibole (ferroedenite or
kataphorite), but biotite, aegirine-augite, and arfvedsonite
ABANAT SUITE occur in some samples, and together comprise between 3
and 4 percent of the rock. Accessory minerals include
The Abanat suite was named by Cole (1985) in the opaque minerals, zircon, allanite, fluorite, and rare sphene.
Abin al Ahmar quadrangle for the youngest assemblage Chemical analysis (Ekren, 1984a) and the mineralogy of
of Proterozoic plutonic rocks in the northeastern Arabian the complex indicate that the alkali-feldspar granite varies
shield. Characteristically these rocks form prominent from metaluminous to weakly peralkaline.
topographic features, tend to form ring dikes and
composite intrusions, and are siliceous, leucocratic, and Ru’ud complex
highly-fractionated granites that are enriched in fluorine, The Ru’ud complex, named here for Jibdl ar Ruud in
lithium, rubidium, and distinctive trace-element groups. the southwestern part of the quadrangle, consists of
They are locally associated with occurrences of tin, biotite- and hornblende-bearing alkali-feldspar granite and
tungsten, niobium, and lanthanum-group rare-earth- syenogranite (fig. 5). The granite is lithologically similar
element minerals, and are marked by their scintillometer- to other units of alkali-feldspar granite in the Abanat
count anomalies. Numerous radiometric ages from these suite, but is differentiated as a separate map unit because
rocks indicate that their emplacement occurred mostly the Ru’ud complex contains fewer dikes than the granite
between 585 and 570 Ma (Cole and Hedge, 1985). of the Kifantah complex, and is intruded by, or forms roof
In the HZ’il quadrangle, the Abanat suite is divided pendants in, the Aja complex.
into: (1) the Kifantah complex, comprising alkali-feldspar
granite that is characteristically cut by numerous dikes;
\e
Quartz

{2) the Ruud complex, consisting of alkali-feldspar granite

and syenogranite; (3) the Rak complex, a small part
of which occurs in the southeast corner of the Ha'il
quadrangle; and (4) the Aja complex, a large composite
batholith consisting of alkalic and peralkalic rocks.

Kifantah complex
The Kifantah complex (ag) consists of amphibole-bearing
alkali-feldspar granite in the western and north-central
parts of the quadrangle. The complex is mineralogically
similar to, but more commenly cut by dikes than, other 1] 10
alkali-feldspar granites in the region. The complex is Alkali-feidspar Plagiociose
» Aja c o m p l e x
intruded by the Aja complex and is inferred to represent
a Ru'ud complex
the oldest phase of alkali magmatism in the quadrangle. no K i f a n t a h c o m p l e x
The complex is named here after Jabal Kifantah and
includes the Kifantah alkali-feldspar granite of Stoeser and FIGURE 5. — Quartz : alkali-feldspar: plagioclase (QAP)
Elliott (1985); the biotite-alkali-feldspar granite and alkali- ternary diagram (Streckeisen, 1976) showing the modal
composition, determined from stained slabs, of intrusive
feldspar granite of Ekren (1984a,b); the quartz syenite, rocks from the Abanat suite (Kellogg, 1983, du Bray and
‘Uwayrid alkali granite, and alkali-feldspar granite of du Stoeser, 1984, Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985, Stoeser and
Bray and Stoeser (1984); and alkali granite of Kellogg and Elliott, 1985).

20
 The complex includes units mapped as the Ar Rumayh Biotite and hornblende alkali-feldspar
alkali-feldspar granite (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985) and
its correlative, the late alkali-feldspar granite of Ekren
granite
(1984a), in the southwestern part of the quadrangle. It Bodies of biotite alkali-feldspar” granite and hornblende
also includes the perthite granite and quartz syenite and alkali-feldspar granite (afh) form small roof pendants in
alkali-feldspar granophyre and alkali granite of Stoeser and the northwestern rim of the Jibal Aja batholith, only one
Elliott (1985), and the hornblende alkali-feldspar granite of of which is shown because of the small scale of the map.
du Bray and Stoeser (1984) and Stoeser and Elliott (1985). According to Stoeser and Elliott (1985), the biotite-bearing
In the present report, the complex is divided into three granite is a typical hypersolvus granite with an average
units. grain size of 3 to 4 mm. Biotite, which exceeds 5 percent,
has been mostly altered to chlorite, Fluorite is a common
accessory mineral. The hornblende alkali-feldspar granite
Rumayh alkali-feldspar granite is very similar to the biotite alkali-feldspar granite. It is
The alkali-feldspar granite unit (agl) forms three plutons medium grained, allotriomorphic-equigranular and
of compact resistant outcrops comprising (1) the large Ar comprises 60 percent strongly perthitic Carlsbad-twinned
Rumayh granite of Ekren (1984a) and Stoeser and Elliott potassium feldspar, 32 percent quartz, and 7 percent
(1985), near the southern border of the quadrangle at plagioclase. The granite contains trace amounts of green
long 41°E.; (2) a circularshaped, 8-km-diameter mass biotite and fluorite (du Bray and Stoeser, 1984).
immediately west of the Jibal Aja batholith; and (3), a
small, 8-km by 10-km mass in the extreme southwestern
corner of the map area.
Alkali-feldspar granite and syenogranite
The Jibdl ar Rumayh pluton is a grayish to crange- A mixed unit of alkali-feldspar granite and syenogranite
pink, well-exposed body of granite that grades from (afg) is compiled as a single pluton on the western margin
a metaluminous to peraluminous core to a peralkaline of the Jibal Aja batholith (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). The
rim. Both portions of the pluton consist of hypersolvus, unit includes coarse-grained biotite-hornblende hypersolvus
clinopyroxene-hornblende alkali-feldspar granite with a alkali-feldspar granite, syenogranite, and quartz syenite.
common grain size of between 3 and 4 mm. The core Mafic minerals constitute less than 5 percent and include
granite is red. It contains string to patch perthite, ubiquitous hornblende, subordinate biotite, and local
considerable late albite, approximately 27 percent quartz clinopyroxene. The pluton contains a roof pendant of older
and 5 percent amphibole. Granite in the peripheral zone Mawqaq complex rocks (tdg) and is intruded by diorite
of the pluton contains more quartz and amphibole than (td).
the core zone, at 40 percent and 10 percent respectively,
and the potassium feldspar consists solely of finely exsolved
string perthite. The amphibole tends to be zoned, varying
from ferroedenite to an outer kataphorite zone, or from
Rak complex
kataphorite outward to arfvedsonite. Accessory minerals Scattered outcrops of granite and granophyre (sgb) in the
include allanite in the core zone of the Al Rumayh southwestern corner of the quadrangle form part of the
pluton, a mineral not present in peralkalic granite, whereas Rak complex, an intrusive complex mainly exposed in the
elpidite, a sodium-zirconium mineral and an indicator of adjacent Baq‘a’ quadrangle. The Rak complex, originally
peralkaline chemistry, is present in the peripheral zone. named the Salma complex (Kellogg, 1983) and renamed
The plutonof Rumayh granite west of to Jibal Aji is by Vaslet and others (1986) forms a large massif of alkali
also zoned. It comprises a hornblende-biotite alkali-feldspar granite, approximately 580 Ma old (Stuckless and others,
granophyre core and an acgirine-arfvedsonite alkali-granite 1984b). Its northeastern sector is genetically associated
rim (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). Mafic minerals in the with a collapsed caldera, the Salma caldera, and
core include 3 to 4 percent brown biotite and euhedral constitutes a large resurgent core (Kellogg, 1985).
hornblende, whereas the rim granite contains about In the HA&'il quadrangle the Rak complex chiefly
5 percent sodic amphiboles and accessory elpidite. includes hornblende alkali-feldspar granite. The rock
The amphibole alkali-feldspar granite assigned to this contains about 3 percent green hornblende, less than
unit in the southwestern corner of the quadrangle is not 3 percent plagioclase, relict biotite (altered to hematite and
zoned. The rock is peralkaline (Ekren, 1984a), although chlorite), and trace amounts of allanite and zircon. The
its modal contents vary considerably. Zoned amphibole, rock weathers to orange-brown domes and spires (Kellogg,
comprising ferroedenitc cores and kataphorite to 1983). In the Baq'a’ quadrangle it is seen that this
arfvedsonite margins, forms 7 to 10 percent of the granite. hornblende granite is a phase of 2 more extensively exposed
Accessory minerals include ubiquitous zircon and elpidite. biotite syenogranite.

21
 Aja complex minerals, a late unidentified interstitial brown mineral,
minor purple fluorite, and elpidite.
The Aja complex, first named by Stoeser and Elliott
(1980), comprises a cogenic suite of hypersolvus alkali- Porphyritic alkali granite
feldspar granite, porphyritic micrographic granophyre, and
Grayish to orange-pink porphyritic alkali granite (ajp)
rhyolite porphyry (fig. 5). The complex is exposed in the forms the inner part of the peripheral zone of the batholith
Jibal Aja massif in the central to northeastern part of along its western side. It is exposed between the outermost
the quadrangle, primarily as the Aja batholith, which
rim of aegirine-alkali granite (aja) and granophyre of the
is a large, composite body, about 35 km by 85 km, core (ajc) (du Bray and Stoeser, 1984). The unit consists
that underlies the northern two-thirds of the massif.
of porphyritic alkali-feldspar and quartz in a fine-grained
The southern portion of the complex, the Marma’ granite, microgranite groundmass containing 3 to 7 percent aegirine-
forms the southern part of the massif, and a stock of Aja
augite and 1 to 3 percent kataphorite, or possibly
complex, the Naysiyah apogranite, occurs a few kilometers
arfvedsonite. The felsic constituents of the granite are
northeast of the massif.
5 percent plagioclase, 25 percent quartz, and 60 percent
The Aja complex is the youngest member of the Abanat alkali feldspar, present as phenocrysts as much as 1 cm
suite in the H3#’il quadrangle, and has been dated at long. The groundmass has an average grain size of about
570419 Ma (Stuckiess and others, 1984b) and 566+4 Ma
1 mm. Accessory minerals include aenigmatite, opaque
(Aleinikoff and others, 1985). The complex intrudes other
minerals, fluorite, and apatite.
units of the Abanat suite, or encloses them as roof pendants
and, unlike these other units, is largely free of dike swarms. Comendite porphyry
The intrusive rocks of the Aja batholith are divisible into
Comendite porphyry, or peralkaline rhyolite (ajt) forms a
a peripheral zone and a core zone. The peripheral zone, the rugged ridge along the northern flank of the Aja batholith.
outermost rim of which coincides with a prominent high-
The rock is green-gray, porphyritic, and locally flow
intensity magnetic anomaly, almost completely encloses the
foliated. It is typically two to four times more radioactive
core. It consists mainly of peralkalic hypersolvus granite
than other peripheral-zone units. The comendite porphyry
and includes aegirine-augite alkali granite (aja),
contains small phenocrysts, $ mm across, of alkali feldspar,
porphyritic alkali granite (ajp), comendite porphyry (ajt),
quartz, 0.3 mm in diameter, and laths of pyrobole minerals,
and arfvedsonite-aegirine alkali granite (aje). In contrast,
2 mm in length, in a very fine-grained inequigranular
the core zone comprises metaluminous granophyre (ajc,
groundmass. The pyrobole content varies considerably from
ajw), hornblende alkali-feldspar granite (ajh), and small
about 6 to 45 percent, but on average the mafic minerals
intrusions of biotite hornblende granophyre (ajd) and
form approximately 15 percent of the rock. They include
rhyolite porphyry (ajr). The zoning in the complex
fine-grained to slightly porphyritic aegirine, and
probably represents zoning in the magma chamber as it
arfvedsonite, which in part rims the aegirine. Chemical
existed just prior to crystallization, but some crystal-mush
analysis indicates that the rock is peralkaline and
magma apparently intruded superjacent and adjacent zones comenditic (D. B. Stoeser, oral communication, 1984).
in the final stages. K. S. Kellogg (oral communication,
Sparse accessory minerals include aenigmatite, apatite,
1984) observed that most contacts within the pluton appear
elpidite, fluorite, and zircon (Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985).
sharp, when viewed from the air, but when examined on
the ground are gradational or vague. Arfvedsonite-aegirine alkali granite
Peralkaline alkali-feldspar granite (aje) forms a 1- to 7-km-
Aegirine alkali granite wide peripheral zone around two-thirds of the Aja batholith
Aegirine alkali granite (aja) forms the western outer rim of to the south, east, and north. The unit includes arfvedsonite-
the peripheral zone of the Aja batholith in the 1:100000- aegirine alkali granite (Kellogg, 1983; Kellogg and Stoeser,
scale Al Qasr quadrangle (du Bray and Stoeser, 1984). 1985; Stoeser and Elliott, 1985) and kataphorite alkali
Its exposure has a distinct grayish-green cast and tends granite (du Bray and Stoeser, 1984; Kellogg and Stoeser,
to weather with very positive relief. The unit consists 1985). The rock is light brown to gray, medium- to
of homogeneous peralkaline alkali-feldspar granite with a coarse-grained, allotriomorphic-equigranular, and coarsely
typical grain size of about 4 or 5 mm. The principal mafic perthitic. Sodic plagioclase, quartz, and mafic minerals are
minerals are aegirine-augite and subordinate arfvedsonite. respectively as much as 7, 37, and 8 percent of the
The aegirine-augite forms 4 to 5 percent of the rock, is rock. The pyroboles include arfvedsonite or kataphorite,
nonpleochroic, and is commonly partially replaced by the and aegirine or aegirine-augite. Arfvedsonite and aegirine
arfvedsonite. The arfvedsonite constitutes 1 to 2 percent of mainly occur in the unit along the eastern margin of
the rock and is pleochroic from gray green to bright green. the Aja batholith whereas kataphorite is common in
Accessory minerals are sparse and mainly consist of opaque the northern exposures of the unit. Minor and accessory
minerals are riecbeckite, opaque minerals, clinochlore (7), of the core of the Aja batholith (du Bray and Stoeser,
zircon, aenigmatite, allanite, rutile, and fluorite. The unit 1984; Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985). The unit abuts
forms a spectacular jagged mountain front west of Ha'il hornblende alkali-feldspar granite (ajh) to the south and
and Qufir that rises abruptly to about 500 m above the the two units may be facies variants of the same intrusion.
almost flat alluvial fan and pediment adjacent to Wadi The hornblende granophyre is less altered, and is probably
ad Dayra’. From the air, the light-brown granite is easily younger than the main mass of granophyre (ajc) in the
distinguished from the pink to brick-red granophyre (ajc) core of the Aja batholith. It is fine grained and leucocratic
in the core of the batholith, and the contact between the and contains slightly oxidized alkali-feldspar, a few percent
two appears to be sharp. On the ground, however, an plagioclase, and less than 2 percent fine-grained
intrusive contact between the two rock units has not been hornblende. Accessory minerals include biotite, fluorite,
found, so their relative ages are unknown (Kellogg, 1983). zircon, opaque oxides and allanite.
Likewise, the relative age of this unit to other granites in
the rim zone of the Aja batholith has not been established,
Hornblende alkali-feldspar granite
although the lithologic and structural similarities of the Hornblende alkali-feldspar granite (ajh) forms the central
peripheral granites suggest that they are approximately part of the core zone of the Aja batholith (Kellogg, 1983;
coeval, Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985). It is brownish pink, coarse
to medium grained, and hypidiomorphic-equigranular. The
Biotite arfvedsonite granophyre potassium feldspar is perthitic and slightly to moderately
Biotite arfvedsonite granophyre (ajc), referred to in the oxidized. The mafic silicates include 3 to 4 percent
literature as the ‘core granophyre’ (du Bray and Stoeser, hornblende and less than 1 percent biotite. The hornblende
1984; Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985; Stoeser and Elliott, 1985) is pale-yellowish green to deep green, poikilitic, and
or ‘leucocratic syenogranite member’ (Kellogg, 1983), is contains fine-grained crystals of magnetite, potassium
the chief unit within the core of the Aja batholith. Locally feldspar, zircon, and allanite. Minor and accessory minerals
exposed contacts and sharp color differences suggest include about 1 percent magnetite (associated with
multiple units within the granophyre, but these were hornblende) and traces of zircon, allanite, apatite, and
not mapped due to their complexity. In general, the secondary epidote. The unit weathers to large domes and
granophyre is pink to brick red, fine to medium grained, slabs, similar to the leucocratic core granophyres, but with
and is usually homogeneous on the scale of meters or tens a slightly browner cast (Kellogg, 1983).
of meters. The typical texture of the granophyre in thin
section is porphyritic, comprising alkali-feldspar
Marma’ granite
phenocrysts, as much as 5 mm in length, and quartz The southern portion of the Jibal Aja massif is underlain
phenocrysts, 1 to 3 mm across, in a fine-grained, partially by a red, fine-grained granite (ajm) named after Al
miarolitic, micrographic groundmass. The mafic silicates Marma' village (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). The granite is
form 1 to 2 percent of the granite and include biotite treated as a separate member of the Aja complex, although
and minor arfvedsonite. Some of the arfvedsonite-bearing it is very similar to, and may grade into, the granophyre in
samples contain minor amounts of aegirine-augite. On the the core of the Aja batholith. The Marma’ granite is fairly
basis of mineralogy the unit varies from alkali-feldspar homogeneous and tends to form very massive, smooth,
granite to syenogranite and its composition ranges from rounded dark pinkish-red to brick-red weathering faces. It
metaluminous (biotite only) to peralkaline (arfvedsonite- consists of an alkali-feldspar mierographic granite marked
bearing). Accessory minerals include opaque minerals, by an anbedral inequigranular seriate and miarolitic
fluorite, and zircon. The averall texture of the granophyre texture in which small phenocrysts of alkali feldspar are
suggests that it was a crystal mush whose mesostasis was set in a groundmass of 2- to 4-mm grain size. Biotite
quenched to form the graphic groundmass. 11 also appears is the dominant mafic silicate, but some samples contain
that the core granophyre was pervasively affected by hornblende and rare arfvedsonite. The most common
subsolvus deuteric alteration. The chief effects of this accessory minerals are opaque minerals, fluorite, and
alteration were to completely oxidize and destroy the subordinate zircon and sphene.
mafic silicates in some samples and to oxidize the iron
within the alkali feldspars so that they are heavily dusted
Naysiyah alkali apogranite
with submicroscopic particles, presumably hematite. It is The Naysiyah alkali apogranite (ajn), named by Kellogg
the oxidation of the feldspars that gives the unit its red and Stoeser (1985), is a 0.7 km diameter circular stock,
coloration (Stoeser and Elliott, 19835), approximately 10 km north of H4&'il city and 1.5 km east
of the outer contact of the Aja batholith. The granite is
Hornblende granophyre tentatively assigned to the Aja complex on the basis of
Hornblende granophyre (ajw) occurs in the northern part its relatively young age, alkali composition, and physical

23
proximity to the Aja batholith. The stock intrudes quartz In one exposure, rhyolite tuff overlies granite of the
diorite of the Arkan orthogneiss (dgn} and is within, but peripheral zone in the northern part of the Aja batholith.
not cut by, the rhyolite-comendite dike swarm in this part The area of tuff is too small to show at the map scale and
of the quadrangle. its relationship to the Aja complex is not known. It may
The stock comprises equigranular alkali microgranite of represent a roof pendant of older volcanic rock, or a relic
0.4 mm average grain size. It includes about 40 percent of a coeval volcanic carapace that used to overlie the Aja
quartz, 50 percent albite, and 10 percent pyribole and complex (Kellogg and Stoeser, 1985).
opaque-oxide minerals. The feldspar and pyribole minerals
DIKES

dll
are strongly oxidized, although traces of primary aegirine
Aplite
survive. Accessory minerals include opaque oxides and
zircon. A nearby apogranite plug, 60 to 70 m in diameter, Aplite (ap) is common in many of the pre-Abanat suite
too small to show at the map scale, consists of intrusive rocks of the Ha'il quadrangle. It forms dikes and
inequigranular quartz-rich alkali granite. Both stock and sills, but most are too small to show on the compilation. A
plug are associated with radioactive anomalies and slight northeast-trending swarm of aplite dikes is present east of
enrichment in niobium. Jabal Sarrah in the southeastern part of the quadrangle.
The dikes are each several meters thick and are locally so
Pegmatite abundant that dike-on-dike features are present (Kellogg,
Pegmatitc dikes cut the Ha'il granite immediately cast of 1983). The host rock is diorite gneiss of the Juwayy
Jibdl Aji, and intrude rocks on the margin of the Aja Rashib suite.
complex. The pegmatites are considered to be a late phase Farther west, large sill-like and irregularly shaped
of the complex. As thick as 1 m, the dikes dip gently masses of aplite and aplitic granite crop out between Jabal
toward the contact of the Aja complex. They consist Rawth and Jibal Matali’. They intrude monzogranite of
of intergrown, very coarse-grained potassium feldspar and the Jufayfah complex (mg), and mixed granodiorite and
quartz that grade inward to an aplitic core, and contain monzogranite (ma), but are intruded by the Rumayh
scattered grains of fluorite. Where the dikes intrude the alkali-feldspar granite (agl). The aplite is pink or pink-
Aja complex, they are brecciated, highly radioactive, gray, commonly porhyritic, and probably monzogranite
and enriched in zircon, niobium, thorium, and rare-earth in composition. It contains small phenocrysts of alkali-
elements. feldspar and quartz, in a quartz and feldspar groundmass.
Biotite is ubiquitous and occurs as minute, scattered flakes.
Biotite-hornblende granophyre
Matic dikes
Small, pink to dark-red granophyre intrusions (ajd) form
one of the youngest members of the Aja complex. The Mafic dikes, mainly comprising diabase (Kellogg, 1983),
granophyre occurs as subhorizontal to steeply dipping are common in the southeastern part of the quadrangle,
sheet-like masses in the east-central part of the core where they intrude the older quartz diorite of the Murran
of the Aja batholith. The unit comprises a leucocratic suite, and the ‘Ishsh monzogranite of the Dayra’ suite.
microgranite granophyre containing 2 to 3 percent biotite Such dikes do not occur in the other, younger, members
and/(or) hornblende and locally contains a deep-blue of the Dayra’ suite of monzogranite, nor in the Hadn
amphibole (riebeckite?). Accessory minerals include formation. In the adjoining Wadi ash Shu‘bah quadrangle,
magnetite, fluorite, sphene, and epidote. similar mafic dikes arc assigned a younger Late
Proterozoic-Early Phanerozoic age. The dikes constitute a
Rhyolite porphyry north-northeast-trending swarm. They are fine grained,
Sill-like masses of rhyolite (ajr) are widespread throughout subophitic, and as much as 10 m thick. The rock consists
the Aja batholith, but are particularly common on the of 70 percent laths of plagioclase, 20 percent augite, about
western margin. The rhyolite is considered by du Bray 5 percent smectite after cuhedral orthopyroxene, and 2 to
and Stoeser (1984) to be the youngest Proterozoic rock 3 percent opaque minerals.
in the quadrangle. It comprises brick-red, biotite rhyolite Mafic dikes of basaltic to intermediate composition
porphyry, and contains variable amounts of quartz, and occur north of Jabal Rughayghith and near Jabal al Khurj.
alkali-feldspar phenocrysts, as much as 5 mm in diameter, They intrude syenogranite and monzogranite younger than
in a miarolitic, very fine-grained, graphic to myrmikitic the Hadn formation, and are spatially associated with or
groundmass. Biotite, present as a late interstitial mineral in grade into granophyre dikes. The mafic dikes contain
minor amounts of less than 2 percent, is generally partially plagioclase, sparse quartz, and as much as 50 percent
replaced by chlorite. Hornblende was found in one sample. partly altered clinopyroxene and hornblende (Ekren,
The common accessory minerals are magnetite, ilmenite, 1984a). The quartz forms interstitial grains or scattered
zircon and, locally abundant, fluorite{Stoeser, Elliott, 1985). phenocrysts that have reaction rims of epidote, possibly
after pyroxene. The pyroxene is commonly altered to granites in the southwestern corner of the quadrangle, and
actinolite, chlorite, and epidote, and locally the dikes form partial ring dikes between Jibal as Sayyarin and Jabal
contain interstitial micrographic quartz and alkali feldspar. ar Rukbham.
The same map symbol is used for very fine grained, The Jabal Sarrah ring-dike system includes the Sarrah
dark-brick-red andesite porphyry dikes at Jabal Sabibah, alkali rhyolite of Stoeser and Elliott (1985), and red
near the east-central margin of the quadrangle. The dikes syenogranite and rhyolite porphyry of Kellogg (1983). At
form an east-west-trending zone 100 m across and consist its maximum, the dike is over 1 km wide and over
of strongly altered sparse phenocrysts of plagioclase, 30 km long, extending 5 km into the Wadi ash Shu‘bah
quartz, and a mafic mineral in a felted intergrowth of quadrangle. The rock is brick-red to maroon and consists
plagioclase, magnetite, and biotite. Deuteric alteration has of alkali-feldspar and quartz phenocrysts in a very fine-
produced abundant hematite, epidote, sericite, and calcite. grained groundmass. The groundmass contains about
8 percent amphibole (kataphorite and arfvedsonite), and
Gabbro dikes local varieties rich in potassium feldspar contain as much
Dikes of gabbroic composition (gb) that are considerably as 1 percent riebeckite.
younger than the north-northeast-trending swarm of mafic Dikes within the Ha’il granite roof pendant constitute an
dikes in the °‘Ishsh monzogranite occur on Hidab cast-west-trending swarm of red rhyolite porphyry. In the
Mulaybah, within the Mulayhah pluton, and farther southwestern part of the quadrangle, the rhyolite is gray,
northwest within the Shatib granite. One is as much as green-gray, or brown-gray, and forms both dikes and
50 m wide. The rock is intensely altered, very dark numerous thin sills.
green to black, coarse-grained hornblende gabbro; about
60 percent of the rock is saussuritized calcic plagioclase,
Rhyolite and comendite dike swarms
and 40 percent is actinolite. The granitic country rock One of the more conspicuous geologic and topographic
is hematitized for several meters adjacent to the dike features in the southwestern part of the quadrangle results
contacts and forms impressive resistant, parallel walls from a swarm of rhyolite and comendite dikes that extends
several tens of meters high (Kellogg, 1983). west-northwest from the western flank of Jibal ar Rumayh
to the western boundary of the quadrangle. The dikes form
Granophyre dikes the many ridges that make up Jabal Rughayghith. They
Recessive-weathering, east-southeast- and east-northeast- commonly are as wide as 60 m near Jibal ar Rumayl, and
trending granophyre dikes (gr), which in places are as wide narrow gradually westward. Within the Rumayh granite
as 60 m, cut across the southwestern part of the quadrangle (agl) itself such dikes are largely absent, but the swarm
at lat 27°18’ N,, long 40°45’ to 40°50° E. and occur also resumes east of the granite and extends approximately as
just northwest of Jibdl ar Rumayh at lat 27°08" N., long far as long 42°45 E. A second swarm of rhyolite and
40°52.5' E. (Ekren, 1984a). comendite dikes is discontinuously present between Jabal
The dikes are composite masses that commonly include Kifantah and Jabal ‘Igfir and a third swarm, in the
mafic phases along their sides or axes. Where the mafic northeastern part of the quadrangle, is present north and
phases are subordinate or absent, the granophyre intrusions east of Hail city.
weather more readily than the country rock and form The dikes are gray and pinkish gray, and contain
deeply sunken trenches, about the width of desert tracks. no more than 5 percent small phenocrysts of alkali-
The granophyre is red or purple and commonly contains feldspar and quartz in a microgranular and micrographic
glomerocrysts of alkali feldspar as large as 1 cm and quartz groundmass. Locally, albite phenocrysts form as much as
as large as 6 mm. The groundmass is a micrographic 20 percent of the rock. The groundmass consists of quartz
intergrowth of quartz and alkali feldspar. Chloritized and alkali-feldspar and 10 percent or more aegirine-augite
biotite is the chief mafic mineral, but locally the rock or arfvedsonite.
contains kataphorite or arfvedsonite and minor aegirine- D. B. Stoeser {oral communication, 1983, cited in
augite. Rocks containing these mafic minerals may be Ekren, 1983a) proposed that the southernmost dike swarm
peralkaline or comenditic in composition, and chemically originated from the Rumayh granite (agl) at Jibal ar
resemble the biotite granophyre in the Jibal Matali* pluton Rumayh. It probably was fed by magma that rose
(bgm) (Ekren, 1984a). vertically near the northwest flank of the Rumayh pluton
and, from there, spread laterally westward. The dikes at
Rhyolite and rhyolite-porphyry dikes the far western end of the swarm are only a meter to a
Fine-grained felsic dikes (rh) that are mainly of rhyolite, few meters wide and dip northward at an average of
rhyolite porphyry, or fine-grained granite form a ring-dike about 70°.
system at Jabal Sarrah, occur in a roof pendant of Ha'il The swarm in the vicinity of H#il city intrudes all
granite in the Aja complex, intrude Jufayfah and Rumayh phases of the Dayra® suite and possibly some carly phases

25
of the Aja complex. The central swarm postdates *Ukhaydirah, and the Jufayfah granite north of Jabal Saq,
emplacement of the Kifantah complex (ag), but predates although they are too small to be shown on the map. These
the Aja complex. In the eastern parts of the quadrangle, dikes in the north-central part of the quadrangle probably
the same map symbol is used for melanogranite porphyry represent an extension of the dike swarm near H&'il city.
dikes (Kellogg, 1983). These are monzogranite to Other hypabyssal intrusions described in the source data
syenogranite in composition. They lie on strike with the for this report, but not shown on the original
rhyolite and comendite dikes, and may well be part of the 1:100000-scale map, cut the Zarghat formation in the
same dike swarm system. southwestern part of the quadrangle (Ekren, 1984a). They
comprise sills and silllike masses of red, fine-grained,
Undifferentiated dikes alkali-feldspar granite and brown-gray porphyry. The sills
Undifferentiated dikes in the west-central part of the are between 1 and 10 m thick, and locally compose as
quadrangle are mainly rhyolitic. Such dikes also intrude much as 30 percent of the volume of the Zarghat
the Kifantah complex (ag) in the vicinity of Jibal formation exposures.

PALEOZOIC ROCKS

4.5 m thick that is similar to the basalt conglomerate at

YATIB FORMATION
Jabal Yatib. South of Jibal ash Shawl, 55 km northwest
The Yatib formation (€y), named here for Jabal Yatib on of Jabal Yatib, the formation is 18 m thick and consists
the eastern border of the quadrangle, is a newly recognized mainly of green to red siltstone and fine-grained feldspathic
stratigraphic unit that unconformably overlies the sandstone. Pebbles do not occur in the feldspathic
basement and is itself disconformably overlain by the sandstone but a meter-thick dolerite sill is present 8 m
Saq Sandstone. At the type locality (fig. 6), the Yatib above the base. The Yatib formation is 16 m thick in Jabal
formation is 21 m thick and from top to base consists of Wubayrah, and consists of green to red micaceous siltstone
the following units: in the lower half and conglomeratic sandstone in the
4. Medium- to coarse-grained sandstone (3.0 m), containing upper half.
rare, centimeter-sized, well-rounded pebbles at the North of Jibal Aji, near As Sifin, the Yatib formation
base; this assemblage forms large-scale low-angle is 15 m thick (fig. 6) and consists from base to top of:
crossbeds and is channelled by the basal conglomeratic (1) green micaceous siltstone, 3.5 m thick, at the base;
sandstone of the Risha member. (2) poorly indurated conglomeratic sandstone containing
Cross-bedded, conglomeratic sandstone (9.5 m)
containing well-rounded pebbles of mainly volcanic subangular and poorly sorted clasts, and green to red
basement rock and siltstone; the sandstone matrix siltstone, 6.0 m thick; and (3) purple-red siltstone, 5.5 m
is poorly indurated, and sand grains are angular thick, channeled by quartz-rich conglomeratic sandstone at
and poorly sorted; the unit occupies channels in the the top. The conglomeratic sandstone unit includes a
underlying unit. meter-thick, lenticular, ophitic-textured dolerite sill (fig. 8)
Cross-bedded, green, micaceous, fine-grained, poorly
indurated sandstone (3.0 m), deposited in channels.
that was the source of volcanic pebbles deposited in the
1. Basal conglomerate (5.5 m} (fig. 7) comprising a poorly sandstone at the edge of the sill.
indurated arenitic matrix enclosing well-rounded In the western part of the quadrangle, the Yatib
pebbles and cobbles, as much as 25 em in diameter, of formation is exposed in a small outcrop northwest of Jibal
volcanic, granitic and microgranitic basement rocks, as Sayyarin. The exposure is too small to show on the map;
and rare centimeter-sized quartz pebbles.
it mainly comprises conglomeratic sandstone consisting of
Elsewhere, the lithology and thickness of the Yatib volcanic rock pebbles and is only 5 m thick.
formation varies according to the basement topography.
Approximately 9 km northwest of the type area, the
Age of the Yatib formation
formation pinches out and is overlapped by the Risha No fossils were found in the Yatib formation and its age
member of the Saq Sandstone against a series of prominent is presumed to be Cambrian, as it is definitely older than
paleohills as high as 130 m. Farther northwest, the Yatib the Saq Sandstone. It is possible that the formation is, in
thickens to 28 m and contains abundant fine-grained part, a lateral equivalent of the Sig Sandstone, defined
sandstone and, 20 m above the base, a conglomerate bed farther west by Powers (1968).

26
 JABAL YATIB AS SIFIN (North Jibal A j i )

e
5
.
Ocher coarse-grained pebbly Ocher coarse-grained pebbly 8
a
5 sandstone with cross-bedding sandstone with cross-bedding 3
|
a
8
A
o C o n g l o m e r a t i c sandstone with C o n g l o m e r a t i c sandstone w i t h 3
a well rounded quartz pebbles well rounded quartz pebbles
—_ 21 m a n a n a D i s c o n f e r m i t y AAAAAAAAAAAAL 15 m a n n a Disconformitysansmasasan
M e d i u m - g r a i n e d sandstone and Purple red siltstone
rr conglomeratic sandstone g
E]
g Conglomeratic and arenitic Eg
= Conglomeratic sandstone in sandstone and siltstone £
E interlocked channels including doleritic lava sill 2
8
s Micaceous fine-grained and pet)
:
Green micaceous siltstone
KJ
= conglomeratic sandstone ay TE TE
> a ~-
Conglomerate uncon'®
BIOMET Mac
—— ar fm — i 5m
ha 0
Undivided Proterozoic basement 0
See the geologic map for lithologic explanation

FIGURE 6. — Sections of Yatib formation in Jabal Yatib and north of Jibdl Aja (As Sifin).

SAQ SANDSTONE is 325 m thick in the northeastern part of the quadrangle,

and 292 m thick in the western part, in the vicinity of Jibal
The Saq Sandstone is a vertically and laterally uniform Hibrin. Overall, the member constitutes the approximate
succession of white, gray, and brown cross-bedded lower half of the Saq Sandstone (figs. 9, 10).
sandstone that was formally defined at Jabal Saq, some In most parts of the quadrangle, the base of the Risha
150 km southeast of the Ha'il quadrangle, by Steineke and member is marked by a few meters of coarse-grained,
others (1958). A hill of the same name within the H a i l poorly-sorted, conglomeratic sandstone containing pebbles
quadrangle should not be confused with the type locality of well-rounded quartz, as much as 1 to 5 cm in diameter,
to the southeast. In the HA&'il quadrangle, the formation and rare basement rocks.
consists of two members (fig. 9): the Risha member at This basal unit is overlain by 105 10 115 m of ocher
the base, and the Sajir member at the top. Much of the sandstone. The sandstone consists mostly of coarse- to
formation is hidden beneath the sands of An Nafud, but it medium-grained quartz and lesser amounts of lithic grains,
crops out in an area of slight relief in the northeastern potassium feldspar, and muscovite, cemented by calcite,
part of the quadrangle between the basement rocks and silica, and hematite. The rock was deposited in numerous
outcrops of the Qasim formation at Jabal al Jilf. The intersecting channels, each channel deposit being
formation also crops out farther west at Jibial Hibrin characterized by microconglomerate at the base overlain
(fig. 10), Jabal al Kamin, Jabal al M a r b i b , and Umm by quartz-pebble sandstone. The top of this assemblage
Salman, localities at which the upper part of the succession in the western part of the quadrangle is marked by a few
is particularly well exposed. Within the quadrangle, the centimeters of white siltstone on a ferruginous surface.
Saq Sandstone ranges in thickness from 538 m in the east The overlying 130-145 m are composed of ocher to
to 670 m in the west. white, coarse-grained sandstone, deposited in channels.
Conglomeratic sandstone occurs at the bases of the
Risha member channels. In its upper part, the unit is better sorted
The Risha member ( ), named for Wadi ar Rishd’ in and bedded, and consists of medium- to fine-grained and
the Al Faydah quadrangle (Vaslet and others, 1985), is homogeneous sandstone. This feature indicates an upward
equivalent to the ‘lower member’ of Delfour and others decrease in hydraulic energy.
(1982). It lies unconformably either on the Yatib The uppermost 69 to 77 m of the Risha member
formation, or on basement rock that, in the northeast consist of white to yellowish, medium- to fine-grained, well
corner of the Ha’il quadrangle, formed residual hills as crossbedded sandstone. Local conglomerate layers occur
high as 13 m above the base of the member. The member at the bases of 10-m-wide channels. In its upper par, the

27
fine-grained beds of this unit commonly display overturned
structure and are intercalated with ferruginous zones.

Sajir member
The Sajir member (Oss), named for Wadi Sajir in the
Al Faydah quadrangle (Vaslet and others, 1985), and
equivalent to the ‘upper member’ of Delfour and others
(1982), consists of siltstone and sandstone. The member
is exposed in a very flat area south of Jabal al Jilf
in the northeastern corner of the quadrangle, where it
is conservatively estimated to be 213 m thick. In the
northwestern part of the quadrangle 2 thickness of 378 m
is estimated from a composite section at Jibdl Hibrin and
Umm Salman (figs. 9, 10). The lithology of the member
is uniform throughout the quadrangle, and the following F I G U R E 8. — Mafic dolerite sill in the Yatib formation
description is based on exposures in the western part of near As Sifin.
the region.
The base of the Sajir member comprises a distinctive where it consists of 140 m of fine- to medium-grained cross-
6- to 10-m thick succession of dark-red to ocher micaceous bedded sandstone. The sandstone occurs in large channels,
siltstone and white fine-grained sandstone. The unit and is intercalated with micaceous siltstone or very fine-
contains numerous Cruziana traces preserved as casis at grained Cruziana-bearing sandstone. Ferruginous surfaces
the contacts between the sandstone and siltstone beds. The occur in the upper part and at the top of the succession.
basal sequence is overlain by 140 m of fine- to medium- Toward the east, the lithology of the Sajir member is
grained, white, planar to cross-bedded sandstone containing very similar to that at Jibal Hibran, except that siltstone
several conglomeratic or coarse-grained sandstone layers at appears to be less common in the succession. This feature
the bases of large-scale channels. The channels are graded could, however, be the result of masking of the siltstone
from conglomeratic to fine-grained sandstone. because of the very flat exposure of the member in the
A second 10-m-thick interval of dark-red to ocher, northeastern part of the quadrangle.
micaceous siltstone containing numerous Cruziana and In places, including Jibial Hibrian, Jabal al Kamin, and
several ripple-marked surfaces oceurs at Jibal Hibrin Jabal al Marbib, the upper 100 m of exposed Saq
approximately 150 m above the base of the member. This Sandstone have been impregnated by siliceous and
unit is overlain by 30 m of white, wellsorted, homogeneous ferruginous cement. The cement is of meteoric origin
sandstone interbedded with gray and red, very micaceous and probably formed during several periods between the
bioturbated sandstone. The sandstone was deposited in Cretaceous and Quaternary. It is localized beneath
wide graded channels or in sets of prograding cross-beds permeable sandstone of the Sarah formation, which filled
characterized by numerous overturned structures. Ordovician glacial paleovalleys. Where noncemented
The remainder of the Saq Sandstone is exposed in Umm sandstone has been selectively eroded, the cemented rocks
Salman (fig. 11), in the northern part of the quadrangle, remain as resistant topographic highs and mark the courses
of the paleovalleys.

Paleontology and age of the

Saq Sandstone
No age-diagnestic fossils have been found in the Saq
Sandstone of the Had'il quadrangle, although Cruziana
tracks are particularly abundant in the Sajir member,
indicating a littoral environment of deposition. The
Cambrian age of the Risha member and the Early
Ordovician (Arenigian?) age of the Sajir member are
assigned by comparison with presumed equivalent rock
units in Jordan (Helal, 1965; Powers, 1968; and Selley,
1972) and from the ages of underlying and overlying rocks:
the youngest basement rocks, which include the Abanat
suite, are probably latest Proterozoic to Early Cambrian,
F I G U R E 7. — Conglomerate in the Yatib formation. and the Yatib formation is probably also of Cambrian age;
 LITHOLOGY PALEOENVIRONMENT AG

m
LANVIRN IAN
QASIM = Claystone Infra-littoral to outer-shelf

©
}
a

3
I

in U m m Saimin _ —
~ n (Cruziana)

OQutcropping
White or beige, fine- to
m e d i s m - g r a i n e d sandstone
in graded large-scale channels
or cross-bedded; intercalated Tidal flat and coastal plain
. with fine-grained, planar- deposits
An (Cruziana) bedded sandstone

~ n (Cruziana)

Prodeltaic—Shallow-water facies
member

White, well-sorted, homogeneous

sandstone with i n c l i n e d ,
prograding bedding and

(ARENIGIANY
o v e r t u r n e d structures
Sajir

- (Cruziana) Red to ocher micaceous siltstone ann { R i p p l e marks)

White, .fine- to medium-grained

sandstone with planar or Littoral sand bars under
Outcropping in Jibal Hibrén

cross-bedding and a few marine influence

ORDOVICIAN
a
SANDSTONE

ee Ca

coarse-grained pebbly ==
channels

Red micaceous siltstone and

3 (Cruziana) fine-grained sandstone ?
SAQ

White or yellowish, medium-

EARLY
to fine-grained sandstone
with cross-bedding and Upward-fining channel fill

Deltaic
ce Tae

overturned structures

TO
Ocher coarse- to medium- LL

grained sandstone with

member

cross- and o b l i g u e - b e d d i n g

CAMBRIAN()
and conglomeratic sandstone
at base of channels

Braided stream
Risha

Sand bars in alluvial system

White siltstone (locally)

Ocher coarse-grained unsorted

pebbly sandstone with ENA
cross-bed ding

Conglomeratic sandstone Basal conglomerate

YATIB 21 mvaa~asaDisconformity . pe crm EAA DisconformityssAaaanana
FORM. Conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, volcanites Lava, conglomerate, alluvial sysiem
~rananaasUnconformity 4)
[=]
Unconformity Anananssananan

Undivided Proterozoic basement

FIGURE 9. — Generalized section of the Yatib formation and Saq Sandstone in the Ha’il quadrangle with interpreted
paleoenvironments. *

29
 At Jibal ay Tuwil, the Hanadir member consists, from
top to base, of the following succession:
Gray to ocher micaceous siltstone and gray medium-
grained sandstone (3.0 m).
3. Gray to red claystone (25.5 m), including several
millimeter-thick layers of red fine-grained sandstone;
contains graptolites.
2. Red and gray fine-grained laminated micaceous sandstone
(5.3 m) containing graptolites.
I. Medium-grained sandstone (0.2 m) blackened by iron
oxides and bearing Harlania traces.
The succession is similar at Umm Salman, except for a
greater abundance of arenitic rock in the uppermost 10 m.

Kahfah member
F I G U R E 10. — Saq Sandstone at Jibal H i b r a n . a—Risha The Kahfah member (Ogk), defined by Vaslet and others
m e m b e r ; b—Sajir member. (1987) in the Qasim area, corresponds to Powers’ (1968)
informal ‘unit 2°. It crops out on both southern and
the base of the overlying Qasim formation has been dated
northern flanks of Jabal al Jilf, and is poorly exposed at
as Llanvirnian.
Jibal at Tuwal and Umm Salman. As a result of channeling
by the younger Sarah formation, there is no complete
QASIM FORMATION section of the Kahfah member in the HAa’il quadrangle.
The Qasim formation is generally equivalent to the lower However, its total thickness, based on sections in the
units of the Tabuk Formation defined by Powers and others neighboring Baq‘a’ quadrangle to the east, is estimated
(1966) and Powers (1968). Other studies of the succession to be 99 m. The Kahfah member conformably overlies
in the Ha’il and Qasim regions are reported by Helal the Hanadir member. Where not channelled by the Sarah
(1964, 1965), McClure (1978), Clark-Lowes (1980), Davis formation, it is overlain by the Ra’an member.
and others (1981), Wolfart (1981), and Al-Laboun (1982). As at the type section (Vaslet and others, 1987) the
More recently, Williams and others (1986) and Vaslet and Kahfah member is divided into two lithologic assemblages.
others (1987) abandoned the name Tabuk Formation and The lower assemblage is composed of fine-grained,
substituted five units of formation rank: the Qasim forma- moderately well-laminated sandstone and abundant
tion, the Zarqa formation, the Sarah formation, the Tayya- interbedded claystone and siltstone. This part of the
rat formation, and the Tawil sandstone. Of these units, only Kahfah member at Jibal af Tuwil is 49 m thick and
the Qasim and Sarah formations are present in the consists, from top to base, of:
Ha'il quadrangle. 4. Gray fine-grained l a m i n a t e d sandstone (5.0 m),
The Qasim formation, as defined by Williams and others containing bioturbations and ripple marks.
(1986) in the Qasim area, is divided into four informal 3. Yellow to red silty micaceous claystone (28.0 m)
containing a few locally lenticular beds of fine-grained,
members, the Hanadir, Kahfah, Ra’an and Quwarah
micaceous sandstone ( t i d a l i t e ) and basal layers
members, which are all present in the Ha'il quadrangle. containing graptolites.
Hanadir member
The Hanadir member (Oqh), named for Al Hanadir
{Williams and others, 1986), is the basal argillaceous part
of the Qasim formation. Complete vertical sections crop
out at Jibil at Tuwil and Umm Salman, but the unit is
poorly exposed along the southern flank of Jabal al Jif,
concealed in part by Quaternary deposits and in part by
sandstone of the Sarah formation. Partial sections are also
exposed at Jabal al Kutayfi and Jabal al Marbib.
The Hanadir member, 34 m thick throughout the
quadrangle, corresponds to Powers’ (1968) ‘unit 1° and
to Helal's (1965) ‘Didymograptus shale member’. It is
apparently conformable on black ferruginous Saq
Sandstone and is conformably overlain by sandstone and F I G U R E 1 1 . — Saq Sandstone (a) and Qasim (b) and
siltstone of the Kahfah member. Sarah (c) formations at U m m Salman.

30
2. Gray, fairly homogeneous, fine-grained, micaceous 2. Gray to red, micaceous siltstone (4.8 m), containing
sandstone (7.0 m) that forms a prominent bench, lingulids and thin interbeds of fine-grained bioturbated
1. Beige, fine-grained, micaceous sandstone (9.0 m) inter- sandstone.
bedded with yellow and bluish clayey siltstone and con- 1. Microconglomeratic sandstone {0.05 m), containing lithic
taining bioturbations and ripple marks; the sandstone clasts and fragments of lingulids and rare phosphatic
is laminated, flaser-bedded, and represents tidalite. fish debris.
The succession is similar at U m m Salman, where the
lower assemblage is 43 m thick and includes a basal unit, Q u w a r a h member
15 m thick, of homogeneous, beige, fine-grained sandstone The Quwarah member {(Ogqq), named for Al Quwarah
that forms a massive topographic bench. Graptolites occur (Williams and others, 1986), is the uppermost member
at the base of claystone and siltstone beds that overlie of the Qasim formation. It crops out only in the northeast
this sandstone. corner of the Ha'il quadrangle, where it conformably
The upper assemblage of the Kahfah member is overlies the Ra’an member and is channeled by the Sarah
composed of tigillite-bearing sandstone, the ‘Scolithus formation. Its measured thickness in the quadrangle is
sandstone’ of Helal (1964, 1965). Its maximum thickness 39 m, and the succession, from top to base, is:
in the Ha'il quadrangle, estimated by comparison with 6. Gray to green, micaceous and clayey siltstone (7.0 m)
exposures in the Baq‘da’ quadrangle to the east, is channeled by the Sarah formation.
approximately 50 m, although the assemblage is commonly 5. Pinkish, medium-grained, well-bedded, bioturbated
eroded or concealed by the Sarah formation. sandstone (7.0 m), containing small tigillites in some
The lower part of the upper assemblage has thicknesses beds; it is ferruginized in the upper part and
intercalated with thin layers of green siltstone.
of 21 m at Jabal al Jilf, 18 m at Jibal at Tuwil, and 3 m 4. Green, micaceous siltstone (7.0 m) containing gray,
at Umm Salmin. It consists of gray or white, fine- laminated, fine-grained sandstone.
grained, well-bedded, somewhat silty, micaceous sandstone 3. Gray, fine-grained. massive, laminated and c¢rossbedded
that is perforated throughout by numerous vertical tigillitc sandstone, interlaycred with rare green siltstone.
b u r r o w s , 0.5 to 1.0 cm in diamecter, and locally 2. Green to gray, micaceous siltstone (11.0 m), locally ripple
marked, and interspersed with decimeter-thick gray,
impregnated by iron oxides. Locally, south of Jabal al Jilf,
laminated, fine-grained sandstone.
the lower part of the upper assemblage is devoid of 1. Gray, fine-grained, bioturbatcd sandstone which forms
tigillites and shows cross-bedding, reworked layers, and the back slope of the Ra’an member cuesta.
ripples. The upper part of the upper assemblage, where
exposed north of Jabal al Jilf, is 19 m thick. Its lithology
Paleontology and age of the
is similar to the lower part, although it is more argillaccous Qasim formation
and the uppermost 6 m are gray to green. Powers (1968) originally considered the age of the Hanadir
member to be Late Arcnigian, but study of the graptolite
Ra’an member fauna by Helal (1965), McClure (1978), Clark-Lowes
The Ra’an member (Oqr) of the Qasim formation, named (1980), Williams and others (1986) and Vaslet and athers
( 1 9 8 7 ) r e s u l t e d in p l a c e m e n t of the u n i t in the
for Ar Ra'n in the Jabal Habashi quadrangle (Williams
and others, 1986) corresponds to the informal unit 3 of Didymograptus murchisoni zone, and the consequent
Powers (1968) and to Helal’s (1965) ‘Diplograptus shale stratigraphic revision of the Hanadir member upward to
member’. It conformably overlies the Kahfah member and the Llanvirnian. Study of trilobite faunas in the Qasim
is composed predominantly of claystone. and Bag'd’ regions by Thomas (1977), Fortey and Morris
In the Ha’il quadrangle, the Ra’an member is limited to (1982) and El-Khayal and Romano (1985) supported
a single exposure in the northeastern corner, north of Jabal this revision. Only praptolites were found in the Ha'il
al Jilf, where the upper part of the member forms a 10-m- quadrangle during the present mapping program and these
high cuesta with a south-southeast-facing scarp. It is 46 m include Didymograptus gr. bifidus of the Didymograptus
thick, and from top to base, includes; murchisoni zone (identified by Ph. Legrand, Compagnie
Francaise des Pétroles, Bordeaux, written communication,
5. Gray or bluish, fine-grained micaceous sandstone
1984), confirming a Lianvirnian age for the Hanadir
(10.0 m), strongly laminated and cross-bedded, and
interbedded with green siltstone. member, and Glyptograptus sp. in the lower assemblage
4. Gray to blue, micaceous, silty claystone (31.0 m), of the Kahfah member, confirming the Llandeilian age
c o n t a i n i n g graptolites in its m i d d l e part, and assigned to the formation in the adjoining B a q ' i ’
interbedded with rare centimeter-thick layers of gray-to- quadrangle (Vaslet and others, 1986).
brown, fine-grained, micaceous sandstone.
3. Brown, oolitic ironstone (0.15 m) composed of flattened
The preliminary results of an examination of graptolites
ferruginous oolites with a limenitic cortex and from the Ra’an member indicate a Caradocian age,
argillaceous core, in a ferruginous and argillaceous consistent with the unnamed Late Caradocian graptolites
matrix. recorded by McClure {1978) in this member east of the

Nn
Ha'il quadrangle. In contrast, there are no fossils in 4. Ochrous, coarse-grained, homogencous sandstone
the uppermost Quwarah member. Consequently, the Late (20.0 m).
Caradocian to possibly Ashgillian age assigned to the 3. Medium- to fine-grained, laminated ferruginized
sandstone (20.0 m), exhibiting large-scale, low-angle
Quwarah member by Vaslet and others (1987) cannot be cross-bedding near the base.
confirmed in the Ha’il quadrangle. 2. Beige, medium- to coarse-grained, homogeneous and
massive sandstone (13.0 m), locally ferruginized and
containing slumps, and layers of clay galls.
SARAH FORMATION 1. Medium- to coarse-grained, conglomeratic sandstone
(2.0 m) containing angular clay galls.
The Sarah formation (SOs), first mentioned by Clark-
The thickness of residual Sarah formation deposits in the
Lowes (1980) and defined in Williams and others (1986)
‘upstream’ part of the paleovalley at Jibal at Tuwdl is only
consists of sandstone and, locally, a basal conglomerate.
about 50 m. They are locally silicified and form resistant
In other parts of northeastern Saudi Arabia, the formation
blocks, several meters in diameter, lying on the Qasim
is underlain by the Zarga formation (Vaslet and others,
formation or Saq Sandstone as, for example, at Jabal
1987).
al Kutayfl.
The Zarqa and Sarah formations correspond to the
The trace of a paleovalley coalescent with the Tuwal-
‘brown to tan sandstone transgressing the lower and middle
Jilf paleovalley is marked by intense silicification of the
part of the Tabuk Formation’ described by Bramkamp and
Sag Sandstone at Jabal Qa’id and Jabal Hararit, and by
others (1963) east of the quadrangle, to the ‘upper Tabuk
silicified Sarah formation sandstone overlying the Qasim
sandy member’ of Helal (1965), and to the unnamed
formation and Saq Sandstone on the southern flank of
*Ordovician-Silurian sandstone’ described by Al-Laboun
Jabal al Jilf. Another exposure of the Sarah formation
(1982). The Zarqa formation does not crop out in the H a i l
is in the northeastern corner of the quadrangle, where
quadrangle due to a disconformity at the base of the Sarah
it channels the Quwarah member of the Qasim formation.
formation. The top of the Sarah formation and its contact
At this locality the Sarah formation resembles the rock at
with the overlying Tayyarat formation is not exposed
Jabal al Jilf, having abundant clay galls in its lower beds,
within the Ha’il quadrangle.
but only 6 m of the unit are exposed; the remainder of the
Both the Zarqa and Sarah formations, as first
formation is concealed by Quaternary deposits.
demonstrated by McClure (1978), are of glacial origin, and
The Sarah formation in the Umm Salman paleovalley
the Sarah formation, in particular, has been interpreted as
(fig. 11), which continues north of the quadrangle into
comprising tillite and fluvioglacial paleovalley fill
the Jubbah mountains, has a preserved thickness of about
(Williams and others, 1986). Four glacial paleovalleys are
100 m. The exposure is too small to show on the map, but
preserved in the Ha'il quadrangle, from east to west
the valley flooris locally marked by a tillite, 1.5 m thick,
(fig. 12) these comprise the east-trending Tuwal-Jilf
that is composed of pebbles of basement rock as large as
paleovalley, and the north-trending Salman, Marbub, and
10 cm in diameter, claystone galls, and well-rounded quartz
Hibran paleovalleys. Of these, the Tuwal-Jilf paleovalley
pebbles as large as 1 cm, in a coarse-grained sandstone
is the largest, and the sedimentary rocks that fill it are
matrix. The remainder of the Sarah formation is composed
preserved over a length of 35 km between Jabal az
of beige, coarse- to medium-grained sandstone grading
Zallimah and Jabal Humaymah. The present gradient of
upward to fine-grained sandstone in units 5 to 10 m thick.
the valley floor, from west to east, is about 4° and
Exposures of Sarah formation at Jabal al Marbiib in the
the flanks display an open-U profile with slopes inclined
Marbub paleovalley are also too small to show at the map
between 8° and 20°. The thickness of the valley-fill varies
scale. The trace of the paleovalley, however, is well marked
according to the paleotopography and the amount of
in Jabal al Kamin and southward by a hardening of 50 m
sandstone preserved from erosion. The maximum is 107 m
or more of the underlying Saq Sandstone by iron and silica
at Jabal al Jilf, where the Sarah formation consists, from
cement. The H i b r a n paleovalley is also marked, at the site
top to base, of:
of channelling, by a 100-m interval of hard, impregnated
rock of the Saq Sandstone.
8. Coarse-grained, cross-bedded, homogeneous sandstone
{0.6 m). The Sarah formation has not produced any fauna.
7. Brown micaceous siltstone (0.4 m). McClure (1978) dates the glacial deposits as Late
6. Medium- to coarse-grained, massive, homogeneous Caradocian because of their position stratigraphically
sandstone (34.0 m) deposited as low-angle crossbeds in above the Ra’an member east of the Ha'il quadrangle; the
intersecting channels.
Sarah formation in the Hia'il quadrangle rests partly on
5. Beige, medium- to fine-grained, well-bedded sandstone
{24.0 m), containing small slumps and large-scale, low- the Quwarah member of Late Caradocian to possibly
angle cross-beds in the lower part, and undulating-to- Ashgillian age. Outside the Ha'il quadrangle the upper
planar laminae in the upper part. limit of the Sarah formation is dated by the precise Middle
 41°30’ 42°00"
REN j=

5paleovalley

N
+

!
-
% / gC I 3 + + + + ++ “Y
E t I E JHE TEE S E SEE REE SEE EE SEE ER EE >

POE TERE TEE EE EE EE RR J J SN PO A

FE EE EE EE ER ER EE EE LEE NE EE
PIER EE EE SE TEE TE TE SE EE J EE ER SA SS
EEE I EE EE EE TE EE a I EE E E EEE E E EE
LIE I EE LE EE IEE DE T E I E EE EE IE EI SE SNE BE EE .
I IEIE TE EE IE IE
IEEE ET C E SOO 3
PEE SSE SE SE SN NN SE SER NT SN SE NE SE SN PUNE SET SN SN SE RY + po
41°00" 41930 42°00"

0 25 50 km
|

Sarah formation [1] Qasim formation V////] Saq Sandstone F:3 Basement rocks

F I G U R E 12. — L o c a t i o n of glacial paleovalleys of Sarah formation.

Llandoverian age of the overlying graptolite-bearing Caradocian and the Middle Llandoverian (McClure, 1978;
Qusaiba member (Vaslet and others, 1986). It would Vaslet and others, 1987). This conclusion is in agreement
appear, therefore, that the glaciation in the HA&’il and with Beuf and others (1971) and Spjeldnaes (1981) who
adjacent quadrangles, represented by the Zarqa and Sarah recorded a Caradocian to Middle Llandoverian glacial
formations, probably occurred between the Late episode in the Sahara and in Gondwana as a whole.

CENOZOIC ROCKS AND DEPOSITS

ALKALI-OLIVINE BASALT 0.9 km in diameter, and consist of fresh alkali-olivine
basalt that displays a hyalopilitic, porphyritic or
Several circular vents and minor remnants of basalt flows xenocrystic texture, Ten to twenty percent of the rock
(Tba) were mapped by Stoeser and Elliott (1985) in the comprises euhedral to fragmented olivine phenocrysts, a
south-central part of the quadrangle, by du Bray and few resorbed quartz xenocrysts marked by reaction rims
Stoeser (1984) in the north-central part, and by Kellogg containing clinopyroxene and plagioclase, and minor augite
(1983) in the southeastern part. The north-northeast phenocrysts. The groundmass has a grain size of 0.01 to
alignment of the vents and (or) basalt-flow remnants 0.12 mm. The flow rock is black, vitrophyric, olivine-calcic
probably reflects control by deep-seated rifts, similar to the plagioclase basalt. It includes 10 to 15 percent slightly
tectonic control on the position of vents described from the zoned anhedral olivine phenocrysts in a fine-grained felted
adjacent Baq'a’ quadrangle (Vaslet and others, 1987). matrix of plagioclase, olivine and magnetite. Both vent and
The basaltic rocks are remnants of a presumably larger flow rocks contain numerous small xenoliths of
region of volcanic flows, and are similar to Cenozoic harzburgite.
lava fields elsewhere in north-central Arabia du Bray and
Stoeser (1984) and Stoeser and Elliott (1985) reported CALCAREOUS DURICRUST
potassium-argon ages of about 13 and 19-20 Ma from AND TRAVERTINE
the central part of the Ha'il quadrangle, whereas Kellogg
(1983) reported an age of 23.4 Ma on two remnants at Calcareous duricrust {Qdc) occurs in the northeastern
lat 27°13 N,, long 41°36" E. These data indicate that the corner of the quadrangle, near Jabal ay Sabrawit; deposits
basalt is of Miocene age and suggest that two episodes of also occur near Umm al Qulban but are too small to be
volcanism occurred in the region. mapped. The deposit is a nodular carapace developed on
The circular vents range from a few tens of meters to old gravel sheets.

33
 Travertine, probably related to springs, occurs at Jabal bioturbation. Carbonate beds in a similar position in
al Jilf, and is shown by a special symbol on the map. other areas of An Naffid have been dated by radiocarbon
methods at 29,000+600 and 24,3401300 years old
EOLIAN SAND (Whitney, 1982b), which corresponds to the last, Late.
Pleistocene, interglacial period. In places the siltstone is
Much of the northwestern part of the quadrangle is
calcareous, and lacustrine sediments are commonly capped
covered by eolian sand that forms part of An Nafud, one
of the principal sand seas of the Arabian Peninsula. The by thin duricrust. Beds of diatomite are also present, but
sand is present as sheets and in a major system of dunes. are only a few decimeters in thickness and cover areas
limited to 100 to 200 m in diameter; they are the same type
Sheet sand of diatomite as described by Whitney (1982b) containing
nearly 100 percent Stephanodiscus astraea (Whitney,
Sheets of sand (Qsz), less than 1 m thick, occur in parts of
1982b) or nearly 100 percent Aulacosira granulata var.
the quadrangle. They mantle gravel sheets on the flanks
angustissima (Y. M. Le Nindre, oral communication,
of individual hills, occur between dunes, and cover Saq
1984). Two lacustrine episodes have been inferred,
Sandstone in the northwestern part of the quadrangle.
separated by deposition of eolian sand.
The composition of the sheet sand is similar to that of the
Lacustrine deposits in the A l H u f a y r depression cover an
neighboring dunes although, where evolved from gravel
area of about 5 km? and are nearly 15 m thick. A 20-cm
sheets, it is more quartz-rich.
thick bed of diatomite occurs at the base of these deposits.
Dune systems
Inactive (Qdy) and active (Qdz) dune systems cover more
KHABRA AND SABKHAH DEPOSITS
than 50 percent of the surface of the Phanerozoic domain Small khabra deposits (Qk) occur in several parts of
within the quadrangle. The dunes are mainly composed the Phanerozoic domain of the H&'il quadrangle. They
of fine- to medium-grained quartz sand that has a fairly comprise siltstone and claystone that in An Nafud is
homogeneous grain size of about 100 microns. Feldspar enriched in eolian sand. Most khabra deposits are active,
appears to be absent and the sand contains only about forming at the present time, although inactive deposits
1 percent heavy minerals, chiefly tourmaline and minor occur west of Jabal az Zallimah.
diopside (D. J. Faulkender, oral communication, 1983). Only one sabkhah deposit (Qsb) occurs in the
The dunes range in thickness from a few meters 10 quadrangle, located in the Al Hufayr depression. The
150 m in some longitudinal dunes, and to 200 m in some deposit is less than 500 m in diameter and is composed
pyramidal dunes (gourds) near the northern border of mostly of gypsum.
the quadrangle.
Within An Nafiid in the H&'il quadrangle, three distinct WADI ALLUVIUM AND TERRACES
morphological zones are discernible: (1) a narrow zone, 3
to 4 km wide, along the southeastern border of An Nafid Active drainage channels are mainly located in the north-
(Qdz), comprising a surficial layer, 2 to 3 m deep, of active central part of the quadrangle, on the flanks of the Jibal
eolian sand underlain by inactive sand; (2) a wide band of Aja massif, The wadi-bed deposits (Qtz) include angular
mostly inactive dunes (Qdy), covered by sparse vegetation, to subangular pebbles, cobbles, and boulders of Proterozoic
between Jabal af Tuwil and Jibal Matéli' and including rocks and Phanerozoic sandstone, or reworked older
‘Irq al Jumaymah; and (3) an area of large active dunes alluvium. Where stream flow has been impeded,
(Qdz) in the northwestern part of the quadrangle. In particularly against the southeastern margin of An Nafid,
this third part of An Nafiid the dunes are structured wadi khabras are present (Qtza). Remnants of wadi
and contain the ‘crescentic hollows’ of Holm (1960). They alluvium are locally preserved as inactive terraces (Qty).
comprise seif and akle’ dunes that are locally barchanoid
in shape. All are oriented to the east, reflecting a GRAVEL SHEETS
predominant west-southwesterly or westerly wind direction
Piedmont gravel sheets (Qg), as much as 10 m thick, cover
that does not correspond to the present prevailing winds
large parts of the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic rocks of the
(Whitney and others, 1983).
H&'il quadrangle. The gravel is poorly sorted, horizontally
bedded, and contains well-rounded clasts. Old, inactive,
LACUSTRINE DEPOSITS
gravel sheets (Qgx) flank small hills in the quadrangle.
Deposits of lacustrine siltstone (Qly) generally less than Larger sheets of gravel, mainly originating from hills of
1 km across, overlie eolian sands in hollows between the Proterozoic rocks, extend as much as 20 km from their
dunes of An Nafid. They locally contain gastropods sources. These larger sheets are both active (Qgz) and
and lacustrine limestone that displays root traces and inactive (Qgy); some of the older sheets support a calcrete.

34
 STRUCTURE
PROTEROZOIC STRUCTURE the Ha'il granite is more variable. East of the core zone the
extent of crystallization decreases, and cataclastic textures
Folds and foliation predominate. In the vicinity of the Dhabi fault zone, the
The most strongly folded and foliated rocks in the H a i l rocks consist of strongly lineated and foliated augen gneiss
quadrangle are the N u f formation, the Juwayy Rashib and and mylonite. The foliation dips consistently between 30°
Murran suites, the Sarrah orthogneiss and several other and 50° to the east, and the well-developed lineation,
pre-Hadn intrusive rock units. Significant deformation comprising aligned augen and crenulations in the cleavage
also affected the ‘Ishsh, Ha’il and Mulayhah granites planes, plunges between 0° and 30° to the south.
of the Dayra’ suite, and resulted in the formation of Nondeformed flakes of biotite indicate localized
the conspicuous Ruwayy gneiss antiform east of Ha'il. The postdeformation recrystallization events. Farther east, the
structures are penetrative and of regional extent, although grain boundaries within the rock become progressively
it is not known whether they resulted from one or several less granulated and the foliation is less strongly developed,
episodes of deformation. while east of the antiform, in the vicinity of Jabal Akash,
Among the deformed older rock units, some exposures the Ha'il granite is virtually undeformed.
of the Nuf formation display variable dip directions of the The Mulayhah complex lies within the central part of the
cleavage, reflecting probable polyclinal folding. Foliation in Ruwayy gneiss antiform and has been significantly affected
the paragneiss unit of the Nuf formation is more regular by cataclastic deformation on its western and southern
in its trend and defines a broad, steeply plunging fold. The margins. Cataclasis affected both the coarser-grained core
Banana formation, in contrast, is not significantly deformed and granophyric border facies and resulted in gradation
in the Ha'il quadrangle, although near-vertical isoclinal from the undeformed core into augen gneiss, flaser gneiss
folds are reported from the Banana formation in the Wadi and locally pseudotachylite gneiss (Kellogg, 1983), The
ash Shu'bah quadrangle to the south (Quick and Doebrich, foliation planes dip sleeply west. Lincations, defined by
1985). mutually parallel mineral grain axes and lcnsoid trains of
sheared and recrystallized minerals, plunge steeply to
the south.
Ruwayy gneiss antiform
Kellogg (1983) had initially considered that the
The Ruwayy gneiss antiform, named by Kellogg and cataclastic zone on the margin of the Mulayhah complex
Stoeser (1985) for Jabal Ruwayy east-northeast of Ha'il, resulted from the forceful emplacement of the granite.
is part of a north- to northeast-trending belt of strong However, field relations indicate that the Mulayhah
deformation that principally affected the Ha'il granite complex and many other plutons in the rcgion were
and Mulayhah complex. The system extends beneath the passively injected, and it is therefore unlikely that intrusive
Phanerozoic rocks at its northern end, and may extend activity caused the formation of the gneiss antiform. This,
southward beyond the map area. Its presence in the south and the extent and variations in the style of deformation
is indicated by tectonic melange (rmm) and the Sarrah associated with the gneiss antiform, suggested to
orthogneiss (gdb). The belt includes major folds and thrust K. 8. Kellogg (oral communication, 1984) that the
faults of the Dhabi fault system, and is characterized by antiform is part of a large zone of weakness or mobile belt.
the development of a pervasive gneissic foliation in the Toward the southern cnd of the gneiss antiform, the
granitic rocks, the trend of which is shown on the Sarrah orthogneiss is weakly to strongly foliated and, in
geologic map by form lines and foliation symbols. The belt many places, compositionally banded. Several periods of
is intruded by the massive granites of the Akash pluton deformation are indicated by the presence of open to
(mgn) and the Aja complex, and the dynamothermal isoclinal folds in the foliation planes.
metamorphic event that produced the gneissic foliation
had clearly ended prior to emplacement of these granites.
Moderately to strongly foliated units of older mafic rock
Structure of the Hadn and
of the Juwayy Rashib and Murran suites crop out as roof
Zarghat formations
pendants within the gneissic rocks of the Ha’il granite. In contrast to most of the older rocks in the quadrangle,
The core of the antiform is marked by pervasive the Hadn and Zarghat formations are only moderately
dynamothermal recrystallization and compositional to barely deformed. A few folds are exposed in the Hadn
banding of the Ha’il granite and Junaydah gabbro (gbh), in formation in the vicinity of Jabal Fitq; they are open,
the vicinity of Jabal as Samra’, and east of Ha'il airport. plunge gently, and only locally resulted in axial-plane
Tight, north-trending subhorizontal folds deform the cleavage. Farther west, near the southern border of the
foliation of the gabbro, whereas the trend of the foliation in quadrangle at 41°15 E., the Hadn formation has been

35
compressed into a series of subhorizontal east-trending A concealed left-lateral fault of small displacement is
open folds. In the extreme western part of the quadrangle inferred to offset the major right-lateral fault
at lat 27°30’ N., the Zarghat formation includes a west- to approximately 15 km north of Al Fayfah. The same fault
northwest-trending syncline. offsets a limestone bed of the Zarghat formation that is
intruded by tonalite.
Faults The second northeast-striking fault in the western part
Dhabi fault system of the quadrangle extends from the southern border
The Dhabi fault system consists of numerous imbricate, of the quadrangle at lat 27°00’ N., long 40°50" E. to
generally east-dipping, thrust faults and several north- and approximately lat 27°05’ N., long 41°15’ E. as a
northeast-trending high-angle faults in the eastern part of continuation of a fault mapped in the Wadi ash Shu‘bah
the quadrangle. The fault system approximately parallels quadrangle (Quick and Doebrich, 1985). The fault is
the axis of the Ruwayy gneiss antiform. However, the fault inferred to have a component of right-slip, and, based
system is younger than the antiform because faults within on mapping in the 1:100000-scale Zarghat quadrangle
the system are locally discordant to, and offset, the gneissic (Quick, 1984), vertical displacement that is down to
foliation, and faults within the system offset melanogranite the north.
porphyry dikes that are part of the rhyolite-comendite dike Approximately 8 km north of this fault, in the vicinity of
swarm that cuts the antiform in the vicinity of Ha'il. The Al Marma’, a northwest-striking left-lateral fault displaces
system is possibly a late-stage, brittle deformation event the southern lobe of the Aja complex. The amount
that post-dated the cataclasis affecting the Mulayhah of displacement of the southeastern and northwestern
complex. contacts of the pluton is about 2 km.
Wrench faults in the eastern part of the quadrangle are
Wrench-fault system associated with the thrust faults of the Dhabi fault system.
Much of the western, and parts of the eastern half of the The most prominent wrench fault shown on the compilation
Ha’il quadrangle, have been strongly affected by a wrench- trends east-northeast. It is marked by local brecciation
fault system that is composed of right-lateral faults of and vuggy silicification, and represents right-lateral slip
northeast strike and subordinate left-lateral faults of of several kilometers. The wrench fault displaces rhyolite
northwest strike. The northwest-striking faults parallel the dikes and northeast-trending thrust faults of the Dhabi
trend of typical Najd faults as mapped elsewhere in the system. The last movement along the fault, for which
Arabian shield; the northeast-trending faults have been there is evidence, postdated deposition of the lower Saq
named the Sagf fault system (Quick and Doebrich, 1985). Sandstone; a small wedge of sandstone is preserved along
Both sets of faults are believed to be related to the the fault as an outlier approximately 14 km southwest
stress system that caused Najd faulting throughout the of the nearest flat-lying exposures of the Saq Sandstone
Proterozoic shield (Schmidt and others, 1979). (Kellogg, 1983).
Two northeast-striking faults that probably have large Other northeast- and northwest-striking faults in the
strike-slip displacements are inferred in the western part eastern part of the quadrangle, exclusive of the Dhabi
of the quadrangle. The more westerly of these is concealed fault system, appear to have mostly vertical displacements;
by the surficial deposits of ‘Irq al Junaynah. The presence lateral offsets are not apparent. Some minor right-slip
of the fault is not supported by the available aeromagnetic displacement, however, is suggested along several of the
data (Andreasen and Petty, 1974), but its existence is northeast-striking faults that cut Jibal Aja.
based on (1) an apparent right-lateral offset of the rhyolite- The wrench-fault system in the HZ’il quadrangle
comendite dike swarm west of Jabal Rughayghith, and (2) indicates that a regional stress field with an easterly
the development of cataclastic zones in small exposures oriented direction of maximum compressive, or principal,
of basalt of the Banana formation and limestone of the stress existed until well after the emplacement of the Jibal
Zarghat formation along the inferred strike of the fault. Aja batholith. Such a stress orientation could account for
These cataclastic zones include intensely sheared and the numerous dike-filled tension cracks in the region. These
brecciated greenstone that locally is altered to carbonate cracks strike west-northwest, indicating a least principal-
and serpentinite-suite minerals. The dike swarm west of stress direction oriented north-northeast, and the
Jabal Rughayghith is apparently drag-folded; strikes vary persistence of their orientation suggests that the same
from northwest in the vicinity of the inferred fault, to stress field may have been active from the beginning
essentially east on Jabal Rughayghith and in the adjoining through the end of alkali magmatism in the quadrangle.
quadrangle to the west (Ekren, 1984c). This bending is
attributed to right-lateral flexing. The inferred fault is part
of this flexure zone, although it is unlikely to be the direct
Dike swarms
cause of the bending. The northeast-trending dike swarm in the °‘Ishsh

36
monzogranite has no counterpart in the western part of tuff sections down-dropped into magma chambers.
the quadrangle. The swarm extends westward across the However, evidence contrary to a volcano-subsidence origin
southeastern part of the quadrangle from the southeast for these circular structures is the presence, within the
corner to about 41°35" E. The majority of these mostly smaller structure, of pre-Hadn rocks of the Banana
mafic dikes cut rocks that are demonstrably older than the formation, and tonalite of the Ma’a complex.
Hadn formation. They fill tension cracks and must reflect A third cauldron has been inferred in the northwestern
a least principal-stress direction oriented west-northwest. part of the quadrangle on the basis of arcuate rhyolite
In contrast, the three conspicuous swarms of younger intrusions (rh), which may be ring-dikes (Ekren, 1984a).
rhyolite-comendite dikes in the quadrangle are intruded However, the dikes are poorly exposed and their apparent
into tension cracks that strike west-northwest and must arcuate configuration may be due to flexing. Furthermore,
reflect a least principal stress direction trending slightly there are so few tuffs in this part of the quadrangle that a
east of north. A reasonable inference is that a 90° change ring-fracture system related to a cauldron seems unlikely.
in the direction of least principal stress occurred at some
time after cessation of Hadn formation volcanic activity.
This directional change probably coincided with the start
PALEOZOIC STRUCTURE
of wrench-fault tectonism inasmuch as a nearly north-
The Paleozoic rocks in the Ha’il quadrangle form a
south direction of least principal stress is compatible with a regional homocline with an average dip of 1° The
nearly east-west direction of maximum principal stress, a
succession displays no evidence of orogenic deformation,
direction of principal stress that could account for most of
but epeirogenic movements are inferred at several points in
the wrench-fault movements in the quadrangle as well as
the Phanerozoic history of the quadrangle. During the Late
the thrust faults in the Dhabi fault system.
Ordovician the Qasim formation was dissected by glaciers,
and glacial deposits of the Sarah formation were preserved
Volcanic cauldrons in paleovalieys. The valley flanks slope between 8° and 20°,
and their floor gradients are about 4°. The glacial episode
Three circular structures that are interpreted to be volcanic
and disconformities within the associated deposits indicate
cauldrons or calderas are present in the Ha’il quadrangle:
epeirogenic movement of the Arabian shelf region, possibly
two in the south-central part and one in the northwestern
associated with isostatic readjustment, during the Late
part. The two cauldrons in the south-central part are
Ordovician and Early Silurian. The Paleozoic rocks are cut
nested. The larger of the two is a prominent feature
by numerous faults, in places obviously related to basement
on Landsat images. It is outlined on the eastern side by
structures. The faults show only minor movement and seem
a broad arcuate rhyolite dike (rh) that in places exceeds
to follow no preferential strike.
1 km in width. On the northern side it is outlined by
the southernmost of the east-trending rhyolite-comendite The Ha’il arch
dike swarms (Stoeser and Elliott, 1985). The western
boundary has been obscured by the southern lobe of the Paleozoic rocks in the H&'il quadrangle are gently warped
Aja complex (ajd), but is inferred to extend beyond the about the north-trending, north-plunging Ha’il arch
Aja complex into a region northwest of Shugayq where (Powers and others, 1966), the axial plane of which lies
an inferred fault juxtaposes rocks of the Banana and approximately along long 41°15’ E. The Phanerozoic rocks
Hadn formations. The smaller of the two inferred nested strike N. 80° W. in the northeastern part of the quadrangle
cauldrons is a structure defined on its western side by an and N. 70° E. in the northwestern and western parts. The
arcuate fault that extends south into the 1:100000-scale Ha'il arch extends possibly as far north as Iraq ( A l
Ghazzalah quadrangle. Laboun, 1982), and the age, origin, and effects of the
Granodiorite megabreccia (gdv) in the eastern part of arch on sedimentation and regional structure have been
the larger structure is considered to be cauldron related discussed by several authors.
(Kellogg, 1983). In addition, the two structures lie within Powers and others (1966), who defined the Ha'il arch,
and partly enclose the thickest known welded-tuff section noted that the earliest effects of the arch on sedimentation
in the region. Welded tuffs are virtually absent outside are evident in the Late Cretaceous Wasia and Aruma
these structures, and the presence of such pyroclastic formations, but that most of the arching occurred during
rock, possibly forming roof pendants, is strong evidence the Paleocene (?) to Eocene. This conclusion was supported
that these structures are skeletons or deep root zones of by Whitney (1982a) and Greenwood (1973).
calderas. In support of this conclusion, Stoeser and Elliott Greenwood’s (1973) argument was based on the close
{1985) observed that the tuff inside the smaller structure spatial relation-ship between the arch and the distribution
has been more strongly metamorphosed than outside, and is of the Miocene to Holocene volcanic flows (harrats) in
locally migmatitic. Such metamorphism is typical of thick Arabia. According to Greenwood, the volcanic centers are

37
aligned parallel to the Ha'il-arch axial trend, indicating a Sudan and Arabia: this he called the ‘Wadi Halfa-Ha'il
common tensional response to the opening of the Red Sea. warp’.
Burek (1969), on the other hand, interpreted the Ha’il arch There are no indications in the quadrangle of movement
as the result of folding related to the opening of the Red along the Ha'il arch during sedimentation of the Early
Sea and Gulf of Aden rifts. In contrast, Al-Laboun (1982) Paleozoic Saq Sandstone and the Qasim and Sarah
related the Ha'il arch to the Rutbah arch in Iraq and, formations. The lithologies of the deposits and their
using subsurface data indicating a hiatus between the inferred depositional environments are uniform across the
Late Carboniferous Berwath formation and the Permian region and the paleotopography developed on basement
Unayzah formation in the Tabuk basin, dated movement rocks that existed in Cambrian time was no higher in the
along the arch as beginning by Late Carboniferous time. arca of the Ha’il arch axis than clsewhere. Consequently
However, referring to the same data, Dixon (1982) did it is concluded that the Ha’il arch did not exist as a
not consider the Late Carboniferous-Permian hiatus as recognizable structure in the H a i l region during the
proven, because of the possibility that sediments of this Early Paleozoic. At some time after their deposition, the
age were deposited, then eroded prior to deposition of the Paleozoic formations were warped across the arch, but
Wasia Formation (Late Cretaceous). He also argued that the date of warping, and therefore the date of earliest
the Ha’il arch was not a true arch, but corresponded to the movement along the arch, can be determined only through
angle of a warp line oriented northeast and passing through study of a more regional scope.

METAMORPHISM
The older layered and intrusive rocks in the Hail “Ishsh and Ha'il granites of the Dayra’ snite have been
quadrangle display varied effects of metamorphism. The metamorphosed to the amphibolite grade. I n these rocks,
Banana formation and most of the Nuf formation have hornblende has been replaced by actinolite and chlorite, or
been metamorphosed in the lower greenschist facies. They mosaics of magnetite, sphene, epidote, and biotite, and
contain mineral assemblages that include saussuritized the igneous textures have been replaced by f[ine-grained
plagioclase, chlorite, epidote, hematite, actinolite, mineral assemblages.
chloritized biotite, and secondary quartz. Locally, the The Hadn and Zarghat formations, and the younger
Nuf formation has becn metamorphosed to the garnet plutonic rocks in the quadrangle, generally show little
amphibolite facies (Kellogg, 1983) and amphibolite and evidence of metamorphism. The Hadn formation contains
hornblende-biotite-garnct gneiss is present in the paragneiss low-grade grecnschist mineral assemblages, but the
unit of the formation. In the vicinity of the Mulayhah metamorphism was not accompanied by penetrative
complex, andesitic rocks of the Nuf formation contain deformation, and primary volcanic textures are well
almandine, amphibole, labradorite, and biotite. Elsewhere preserved. Primary structures are so well preserved that it
in the eastern part of the quadrangle, impure dolomitic is possible, as pointed out by Quick (1983), that the
rock in the Nuf formation has been metamorphosed to an mineral assemblage observed in the Hadn formation rocks
assemblage of diopside, quartz, epidote, and grossularite, may be the result of autometamorphism accompanying
and calcareous marble in the formation is rich in tremolite. deposition and lithofaction, rather than a product of low-
Among the older intrusive rocks of the quadrangle, the grade regional metamorphism.
Mawgqaq complex has been rerystallized in the greenschist The Phanerozoic rocks show no evidence of
facies, and gabbro of the Juwayy Rashib suite and metamorphism.

SUMMARY OF GEOLOGIC HISTORY

H a i l region itself may constitute one (Johnson and Vranas,
PROTEROZOIC HISTORY
1984; Johnson and Williams, 1984). Evolution of the
The geologic history of the northern Arabian shield, like Nabitah mobile belt occurred in three successive stages:
that of the shield as a whole, is the result of activity (1) pre-collision plate convergence, older than 680 Ma,
along the Nabitah mobile belt, a north-trending suture during which the Hulayfah magmatic arc formed over
zone between two allochthonous crustal plates: a western a west-dipping subduction zone; (2) collision of the Hijaz-
plate of oceanic crust, termed the Hijaz-Asir plate, and Asir and Afif plates, about 680-640 Ma, creating the
an eastern plate with continental affinities, the Afif plate Nabitah mobile-belt suture zone, and (3) intracratonic
(Schmidt and others, 1979; Stoeser and others, 1984). The tectonic and magmatic activity, at about 630-565 Ma.
plates include numbers of accreted terrains, of which the Kellogg (1984) suggested that, in the Hail quadrangle,
the basaltic and andesitic greenstones of the Nuf and Dayra’ suite, which is somewhat younger than the Murran
Banana formations, and the mafic plutonic rocks of the suite, is dated by the ‘Ishsh monzogranite as 65118 Ma
Juwayy Rashib suite, were formed in a maturing island and younger. Volcanic activity during emplacement of the
arc that constituted part of the pre-collision episode of Dayra’ suite resulted in deposition of the Hadn formation,
magmatism. Alternatively, Ekren (1984d) suggested that in part within a caldera related to probable collapse above
the Banana and Nuf formations accumulated in a back- a magma chamber of a Dayra’ suite pluton.
arc basin, a tectonically quieter environment that better During and following plate collision, the character of
explains the structural concordance of the Hulayfah group magmatism in the region changed from genesis of mafic
and Hadn formation in parts of the region (Quick, 1983; rocks to that of intermediate and subsequently of granitic
Fairer, 1984; Kellogg, 1984). In many places, however, the rocks, and the intrusive rocks assumed a bimodal aspect.
Hulayfah and Hadn are strongly discordant; furthermore, The Murran suite, ranging in composition from gabbro to
available radiometric ages indicate that the two formations granodiorite, with an average composition of quartz diorite,
are separated in time by about 100 Ma. and the approximately coeval Sarrah granodiorite
The 735 Ma age obtained from quartz diorite that orthogneiss and Jadid syenogranite, suggest an early
intruded the Hulayfah group in the Wadi ash Shu‘bah bimodal character of magma genesis. The emplacement of
quadrangle (Table 1), is unlikely to represent a minimum granitic rocks of the Dayra’ intrusive suite, and its
age for the magmatic-arc phase. The rocks dated are volcanic equivalents, the Hadn formation, are the youngest
probably part of the Juwayy Rashib suite rather than the and most highly-evolved rocks resulting from the collision
Ma’a complex as presently assigned (Quick and Doebrich, phase. Tectonically, the collision phase was a period of
1985), and elsewhere in the northern shield geochronologic strong east-west compression during which the Ruwayyah
data indicate that large-scale emplacement of dioritic rocks gneiss antiform evolved.
took place over a long period of time, from about 740 Ma In the Ha’il quadrangle, the intracratonic phase of
and earlier to about 650 Ma (Johnson and Williams, 1984; activity along the Nabitah mobile belt resulted in the
Cole and Hedge, 1985). emplacement of numerous granite plutons and deposition
The collision phase in the region is represented by mafic of the Zarghat formation. Monzogranites of the
to calcalkalic intrusive rocks of the Murran and Dayra’ Rughayghith suite were among the earliest of these
suites and related volcanosedimentary rock units, and the plutons, and range in probable age from 630 Ma, the
ages obtained for these suites correspond closely with the approximate age of the Shatib pluton, to 600 Ma. In
age of the collision phase proposed by Stoeser and others general the monzogranites are equivalent to the Idah
(1984). In the type area in the southeastern part of suite of calc-alkaline intrusive rocks defined farther east in
the Wadi ash Shu‘bah quadrangle, the Murran complex the shield (Cole and Hedge, 1985). More evolved granitic
(Williams and Simonds, 1985) is considered, at least in rocks of the Ash Shu‘bah complex followed, dated by the
part, equivalent to the Laban complex dated at Ba‘gham granite (600+7 Ma) in the Wadi ash Shu‘bah
approximately 650 Ma (Cole and Hedge, 1985). The quadrangle, succeeded by alkali and peralkaline rocks of

TABLE 1 : Geochronologic data for the Ha'il quadrangle and adjacent areas.

Location Unit dated Method Result Source

1 Ishsh monzogranite U-Pb 65118 Ma Cole and Hexige, 1985

2 Shatib monzogranite U-Pb 832+8 Ma Cole and Hedge, 1985
3 Aja complex Th-Pb 570119 Ma Struckiess and others, 1984d
Not plotesd Ala complex PE-Pb 759+453 Ma Struckless and others, 1984b
Not plotted Ala complex Ub 56614 Ma o l f others, 1985
A M e i n i kand
Not plotted Aja complex Rb-Sr 680118 Ma Brown and others, 1978
Nat plotted Aja complex Rb-Sr 492115 Ma n others, 1978
B r o wand
4 Miocene basalt K-Ar 2 4 1 0 2 Ma Kedogg, 1983
5 Miocene basalt K-Ar 234102 Ma Stoesar and Elliott, 1985
[3 Miocene basalt K-Ar approx. 19.3 Ma Sweser and Elliott, 1985
In adjacent areas:
Widi ash Shu'bah quadrangle Ma's complex U-Pb 735110 Ma C. E. Hedge, writen commun. 1984,
cited in Quick and Doebrich, 1985
Ba'gham granite Rb-Sr 60017 Ma Stuckleas and others, 1984a
(Ash Shu'bah convplex)
Baq'd’ quadrangle Rak complex Rb-Sr S80t5 Ma Stuckiess and others, 1884b

39
the Abanat suite. The 570 Ma age obtained from granite an evolving sequence of depositional environments; it
of the Aja complex is in accord with younger ages for these was deposited in a fluviatile braided-stream environment
rocks in the northern shield, including the Rak complex at (fig. 9) and contains conglomerates formed under high-
580+5 Ma, and marks the time of complete cratonization. energy conditions near paleotopographic highs, and diabase
Evolution of alkali magma is commonly associated with sills representing latest Proterozoic and earliest Cambrian
crustal tension. In the Ha'il quadrangle, tension toward magmatic activity. A significant decrease in energy
the end of the Proterozoic is indicated by the presence of conditions marked deposition of the Risha member of the
east-trending dike swarms. The dike swarms overlap in age Saq Sandstone; the basal rocks include microconglomerate,
with the alkali rocks of the Abanat suite; the dikes cut the but the remainder predominantly consists of coarse- to
earliest members of the suite, but are intruded by the later medium-grained sandstone deposited in upward-fining
members. At the end of the Proterozoic, exiension gave channels and sand bars. The lower part of the Risha
way to transcurrent faulting and the region was affected member represents distal alluvium deposited on a relatively
by northwest-trending Najd faults with left-lateral slip, flat substrate, whereas the upper part of the Risha
and minor northeast-trending transcurrent faults with right- member, containing cross-bedded deposits showing
lateral slip. reversed current directions and overturned structures, was
formed in a partly marine deltaic environment.
The final stage is represented by the shallow-water
PALEOZOIC HISTORY AND prodeltaic depositional environment of the Sajir member. It
SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS is characterized by a greater abundance of planar bedding
and by siltstone interbeds containing Cruziane trails,
The newly formed Proterozoic crust had been deeply indicating quiescent periods and marine influence. Some
eroded and peneplaned by the time the Early Paleozoic channel deposits are present but the material is fine-
continental to marine clastic sedimentary rocks were grained and better sorted than in the Risha member, and
deposited. Later on they were gently warped by regional the channels have a more varied orientation; these features
uplift along the Ha'il arch. The arch was active possibly are diagnostic of tidal-flat or coastal-plain sedimentation in
as carly as Permian time and most active in early meander channels.
Tertiary time.
The area was bevelled by erosion at least twice during
Llanvirnian to Late Caradocian
Early Tertiary time and, beginning in Late Tertiary time,
or Ashgillian(?)
alkali-olivine basalts erupted from numerous vents along The evolution toward a marine environment that began
north-northeast-trending rifts in the southern part of the with the upper part of Saq Sandstone was continued
H3a'il quadrangle. The lava flows have been almost during the Llanvirnian and resulted in deposition of
completely removed by erosion. the infralittoral to outer-shelf sediments of the Hanadir
member of the Qasim formation. The member represents
Cambrian? to Early Ordovician deposition in a shallow sea transgressing a relatively
(Arenigian?) flat surface.
The Cambrian(?) to Early Ordovician Yatib formation and A younger depositional cycle, during the Llandeilian
the overlying Saq Sandstone transgressed a peneplaned and the Late Caradocian, began with lagoonal clay and
surface of Proterozoic rocks. Local relief on the surface silt in the lower part of the Kahfah member, followed
was as great as 130 m, the height of hills buried by the by infralittoral tidalite and subsequently by a low-energy,
Saq Sandstone. proximal prodeltaic environment identified by planar-
Paleocurrent directions in the Saq Sandstone, indicated bedded sandstone containing tigillites [Scolithus). which
by sedimentary structures such as channels, cross-bedding, indicate deposition in water depths of 10 to 12 m
and inclined prograded bedding, are approximately the (A. L’Homer, written communication, 1983). The final
same throughout the quadrangle. They indicate a phase of this cycle corresponds to the Ra’an member
prevailing flow direction of N. 45° to 60° E. in the lower clays of Late Caradocian age, transgressive and marine at
part of the Saq Sandstone, the Risha member, and a the base and lagoonal at the top.
subordinate direction of between 0° and N. 20° E. in Another depositional cycle began during the Late
the east. The major flow direction in the Sajir member, Caradocian and possibly continued into the Ashgillian,
higher in the succession, is between N. 15° to 60° E. with although no diagnostic age indicators are available. It
a secondary direction of between N. 20° to 40° W. It is corresponds to the marine tidalite and lagoonal deposits
inferred that the sediment source for these rocks lay in the of the Quwarah member. The end of the cycle is not
Proterozoic shield to the south and southwest. known because the rocks comprising it were eroded during
The basal Yatib formation represents the first unit in deposition of the Sarah formation.
 Late Caradocian {or Ashgillian?) in the H&'il quadrangle, of the Sarah formation. The
to Early Llandoverian deposition of tillite indicates that glacial conditions
prevailed in the Ha'il quadrangle. Farther east, the
The end of the Ordovician coincided with the development sedimentary features of the Sarah formation and
of an ice cap that was probably centered south of the underlying Zarqa formation, where preserved, are
Sahara Desert and affected parts of the entire Gondwana consistent with several stages of advance and retreat of the
continent. On the Arabian shelf, this Late Ordovician ice cap accompanied by isostatic readjustment associated
glacial event resulted in intense erosion, mainly evinced with melting of the ice. Subsequent postglacial uplift led to
by paleovalleys cut in earlier deposits and by deposition, accelerated erosion of the underlying formations.

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

No significant metallic-mineral occurrences have been contact. The quartz veins penetrate only a few meters into
found in the quadrangle. Tin associated with the Akash the surrounding country rock to the west.
granite was discovered during the mapping of the Composite chip samples from the greisenized zone on
1:100000-scale Hi'il quadrangle, and niobium, thorium, and near Jabal Akash have an average tin content of
and rare earth elements are associated with the Jibal Aja 710 ppm and a maximum of 1600 ppm (Kellogg and
intrusive complex and the Naysiyah alkali granite. Smith, 1985). As much as 3000 ppm Zn occurs in samples
A radiometric anomaly (300-900 cps) was found in of greisen and anomalous values of iron, manganese,
sandstone at the top of the Kahfah member and base molybdenum, bismuth, and copper were also found. Quartz
of the Ra’an member of the Qasim formation. A similar veins locally contain as much as 200 ppm tungsten, but
anomaly is recorded at the same horizon to the southeast: greisen samples all yielded less than 50 ppm tungsten.
in the Jabal Habashi quadrangle (Williams and others,
1986) and described by Matzko and others (1978). Several Aja complex
industrial mineral occurrences have been recorded in the The 1966-1967 airborne scintillation-counter survey of
Phanerozoic formations (Spencer, 1983). the Arabian Shield (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques
Elsewhere in the northern Arabian shield, successions et Minitres, 1967) revealed a number of radiometric
of volcanic rocks comparable to the Nuf and Banana anomalies (two to three times background) within the
formations in the Ha'il quadrangle constitute the host rocks Aja complex. Additional interpretive work was done by
for volcanogenic base- and precious-metal mineralization; T. N. Irvine (written commun., 1976). Follow-up work,
to date, however, no indication of this type of however, failed to detect any mineralization associated
mineralization has been recorded in the quadrangle. with these anomalies (C. R. Meissner and A. J. Petty,
written communication, 1970; du Bray and Stoeser, 1984;
SPECIALIZED GRANITES Stoeser and Elliott, 1985), although the granite itself is
enriched in tin, fluorine, niobium, zirconium, and lead
Akash granite (Grootenboer and others, 1985). It is assumed that the
The Akash granite (mgn} has been identified as a tin-, radiometric anomalies are due mainly to mass effect
tungsten-, and zinc-anomalous granite (Kellogg and coupled with non-altitude corrected data related to the
Stoeser, 1985). Extensive greisen zones crop out over a irregular topography of the Jibal Aja massif. The only
distance of several kilometers along the northwestern known mineralization is shown by sparse niobium-thorium-
margin of the Akash granite and within several tens enriched pegmatite veins in the arfvedsonite-aegirine alkali-
of meters of the contact (MODS locality 03362). The feldspar rim granite west of Ha'il (C. R. Meissner and
greisenized rock is black to dark greenish gray, and A. J. Petty, wrilten communication, 1970; Matzko and
is composed of about 90 percent quartz occurring as a Nagvi, 1978), and showings of fluorite in the southern part
medium-grained mosaic, 5 to 6 percent muscovite, as much of the complex (MODS localities 2237, 2244, and 4032).
as 4 percent hematite, 0 to 2 percent altered biotite, as
much as 1 percent fluorite, and trace amounts of cassiterite
Naysiyah alkali apogranite
and topaz. Numerous west-trending, strongly hematitized The Naysiyah alkali apogranite was first visited by
quartz veins penetrate both greisenized rock and relatively Hummel and Hakim (1965), who sampled the Naysiyah
unaltered phases of the Akash granite, and are found in apogranite (ajn) and the eastern rim of the Jibal Aja
a zone extending several kilometers from the western batholith. The area was further sampled by C. R. Meissner

41
and A. J. Petty (written communication, 1970). The rock intrusions, although no assemblage of typical skarn
sampled by Hummel and Hakim, and three additional minerals is present (Kellogg, 1983). The carbonate-
samples taken by Meissner and Petty from a ‘plug’ in the magnetite bodies contain as much as 88 percent Fe,O;, but
vicinity of the Naysiyah stock, possibly the plug described Chevremont (1982) reported that they are virtually barren
in the present report, contained 0.04 to 0.15 percent of tungsten.
Nb,O; and 0.005 to 0.028 percent equivalent U,O,, but ore
minerals were not identified due to the altered and fine- INDUSTRIAL MINERALS
grained nature of the rock (Matzko and Naqvi, 1978). Kaolinitic clay
The samples were strongly radioactive, and derived from
Kaolinitic clay (MODS localities 3484, 3485, 4174) at
localities marked by aeroradiometric anomalies of 2 to
the base of the Hanadir member of the Qasim formation
3 times background.
has produced favorable results in tests of its suitability
Subsequent sampling by Stoeser and Elliott (1985)
for structural clay products (bricks, tiles, claypipes), and
yielded niobium values less than those determined by
reserve potential is very great (Spencer, 1983). The
carlier workers. These results are semiquantitative, but
resource is approximately 50 km northeast of Ha'il city,
indicate that niobium-enriched alkali granites similar to
adjacent to paved roads.
those found elsewhere in the northern shield (Drysdall and
others, 1984) exist in the Ha'il area. Glass sand
The potential of the Saq Sandstone for glass manufacture
NIOBIUM-, THORIUM-, AND is marginal because sand containing 96 percent SiO,
RARE-EARTH-BEARING VEINS content requires treatment. The high degree of natural
whiteness and the grain-size distribution, however, are
Kellogg (1983) described pegmatite veins on the cust flank positive indicators (Spencer, 1983).
of Jibal Aja (MODS locality 3361) that contain as much
as 0.5 percent niobium and 0.1 percent each of cerium, Diatomaceous earth
lanthanum, yttrium, and thorium. The pegmatites, as wide Diatomaceous earth occurrences in An Nafid are currently
as 4 m and several hundred meters long, are composed of being investigated. Present indications suggest that their
coarsely perthitic potassium feldspar, black industrial potential is rather low. Attapulgite occurs as the
(hematite?)-stained quartz, as much as 10 percent brick- only clay mineral in the silt of the sabkhah-like plain near
red, doubly terminated zircon, a trace of sodic amphibole Mughayr (MODS locality 3486; Spencer, 1983).
(ricbeckite?), and as much as § percent black to reddish-
Other industrial minerals
brown opaque minerals that are mostly hematite but
include thorium- and rare-earth-bearing minerals. Quartz Industrial process minerals are limited to a pegmatite
veins approximately 2 km farther southwest contain occurrence (MODS locality 3480) and fluorite reported
anomalous niobium, lead, silver, tin, and molybdenum from Jibdl Aja (MODS localities 2237, 2244, 2490, 4032);
(Grootenboer and others, 1985). the industrial potential is slight. Small occurrences of talc,
magnesite, and asbestos are reported from Jibal Nawf.
The aggregate potential of the region is good. An Nafud
CHROMITE- AND NICKEL-BEARING
provides an enormous potential supply of well-sorted sand.
SERPENTINITES Wadi gravels with a fineness modulus ideal for concrete
Chevremont (1982) and Kellogg (1983) reported the manufacture have been delimited around Jabal Shatib.
occurrence of small massive pods and bodies of The crystalline basement is a large resource of hard,
disseminated chromite in the Sabihah serpentinite (MODS usually fractured, feed for crushed aggregate. Los Angeles
localities 2175, 3028). The bodies are all less than 1 m? abrasion test results of less than 25 percent from sites
and of low grade. Massive chromite samples contain less around Ha'il are satisfactory (Spencer, 1983). Sabkhahs
than 44 percent Cr,0,, and the deposits are of no in the Al Hufayr depression contains gypsum, but the
economic interest. occurrence is small and its industrial significance is
negligible.

MASSIVE MAGNETITE ORNAMENTAL STONE

Small uneconomic lenses of massive magnetite (MODS Ornamental stone potential exists in the crystalline
locality 2176) as much as several tens of centimeters basement. Orange to pink massive granite occurs in Jibdl
thick and 5 m long, occur interlayered with marble in the Aji. Elsewhere, a number of occurrences of gabbro,
Nuf formation along the eastern border of the quadrangle. anorthosite, marble, and serpentinite have been noted,
These masses may be genetically related to nearby granitic although fracturing limits their use to reconstituted stone.

42
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