Ḥarrat al-Shām
Black Desert | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 32°37′53″N 36°45′52″E / 32.63139°N 36.76444°E | |
Part of | Syrian Desert |
Offshore water bodies | |
Age | Oligocene, Neogene, Quaternary |
Geology | Basaltic volcanic field |
Volcanic field | Harrat Ash Shaam Volcanic Province (HASV) |
The Ḥarrat al-Shām ( Arabic: حَرَّة ٱلشَّام), [1] [nb 1] also known as the Black Desert, [2] is a region of rocky, basaltic desert straddling southern Syrian region and the northern Arabian Peninsula. It covers an area of some 40,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi)[ citation needed] in the modern-day Syrian Arab Republic, Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Vegetation is characteristically open acacia shrubland with patches of juniper at higher altitudes. [3]
The Harrat has been occupied by humans since at least the Late Epipalaeolithic ( c. 12,500–9500 BCE). [4] One of the earliest known sites is Shubayqa 1 (occupied c. 12,600–10,000 BCE), [4] [5] a Natufian site where archaeologists have discovered the remains of the oldest known bread. [6]
The Harrat comprises volcanic fields formed by tectonic activity from the Oligocene through to the Quaternary. [7] It is the largest of several volcanic fields on the Arabian Plate, [8] containing more than 800 volcanic cones and around 140 dikes. [7] Activity began during the Miocene; an earlier eruptive stage at the southeastern end of the volcanic field, occurred during the late Pleistocene and the Holocene. [9] It is known to have erupted in historic times. [10] [11]
The Jabal al-Druze, al-Safa and Dirat al-Tulul volcanic fields, among others, form the northern and Syrian part of the ḥarra. The Saudi Arabian portion of the Harrat Ash Shamah volcanic field extends across a 210 km (130 mi)-long, roughly 75 km (47 mi)-wide northwest-southeast-trending area on the northeastern flanks of the Wadi Sirhan and reaches its 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) high point at Jabal al-Amud. It is in the Tabuk Province of northwest Saudi Arabia. [12] [13] and is one of a series of Quaternary volcanic fields paralleling the Red Sea coast.
Ḥarrat al-Shām
Black Desert | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 32°37′53″N 36°45′52″E / 32.63139°N 36.76444°E | |
Part of | Syrian Desert |
Offshore water bodies | |
Age | Oligocene, Neogene, Quaternary |
Geology | Basaltic volcanic field |
Volcanic field | Harrat Ash Shaam Volcanic Province (HASV) |
The Ḥarrat al-Shām ( Arabic: حَرَّة ٱلشَّام), [1] [nb 1] also known as the Black Desert, [2] is a region of rocky, basaltic desert straddling southern Syrian region and the northern Arabian Peninsula. It covers an area of some 40,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi)[ citation needed] in the modern-day Syrian Arab Republic, Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Vegetation is characteristically open acacia shrubland with patches of juniper at higher altitudes. [3]
The Harrat has been occupied by humans since at least the Late Epipalaeolithic ( c. 12,500–9500 BCE). [4] One of the earliest known sites is Shubayqa 1 (occupied c. 12,600–10,000 BCE), [4] [5] a Natufian site where archaeologists have discovered the remains of the oldest known bread. [6]
The Harrat comprises volcanic fields formed by tectonic activity from the Oligocene through to the Quaternary. [7] It is the largest of several volcanic fields on the Arabian Plate, [8] containing more than 800 volcanic cones and around 140 dikes. [7] Activity began during the Miocene; an earlier eruptive stage at the southeastern end of the volcanic field, occurred during the late Pleistocene and the Holocene. [9] It is known to have erupted in historic times. [10] [11]
The Jabal al-Druze, al-Safa and Dirat al-Tulul volcanic fields, among others, form the northern and Syrian part of the ḥarra. The Saudi Arabian portion of the Harrat Ash Shamah volcanic field extends across a 210 km (130 mi)-long, roughly 75 km (47 mi)-wide northwest-southeast-trending area on the northeastern flanks of the Wadi Sirhan and reaches its 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) high point at Jabal al-Amud. It is in the Tabuk Province of northwest Saudi Arabia. [12] [13] and is one of a series of Quaternary volcanic fields paralleling the Red Sea coast.