A long Quaternary terrace sequence in the Orontes River Valley, Syria: a record of uplift and of human occupation

Bridgland, D.R.; Philip, G.; Westaway, R; White, M.J.

Abstract

Mapping in the Homs region of Syria has revealed a hitherto unrecognized staircase of at least 12 gravel terraces of the upper Orontes River. The terrace gravels overlie Pliocene lacustrine marl and have been calcareously cemented into conglomerates, sometimes interbedded with cemented fine-grained alluvium. A tentative dating scheme, based on modelling the regional-scale surface uplift that has driven fluvial incision of ~ 400 m since the latest Miocene, and incorporating correlation with the dated terraces in the valley of the middle Orontes using height above the river, envisages terrace formation spanning at least the last 1.2 Ma.

Citation

Bridgland, D., Philip, G., Westaway, R., & White, M. (2003). A long Quaternary terrace sequence in the Orontes River Valley, Syria: a record of uplift and of human occupation. Current Science, 84(8), 1080-1089

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Apr 25, 2003
• Deposit Date: Oct 15, 2008
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 15, 2008
• Journal: Current Science
• Print ISSN: 0011-3891
• Publisher: Indian Academy of Sciences
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 84
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1080-1089
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1572023
• Related Public URLs: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24107671