File 1450/1919 ‘Mesopotamia & Kurdistan: Geological Reports on’ [‎80r] (174/522)

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T r/ K h 5 n f e 111 tlle ' lX1S at hl1 ! 9 i 5 ls not sufficient to make this area favourable for drilling, but the
J. Kibritiyah must represent a higher crest maximum and will have to be examined later. We were
unable to get to it on this reconnaissance.
6 . Mishraq-Araij Anticlinal Area.
The strip o£ country bordering the right bank of the Tigris between the villages of Araij and
Sahnah is dealt with under this title. South of the Sinn Mishraq hills, to Baiji, the' structure of the
country is that of nearly parallel anticlines and synclines, while to the north of the village of Araij
there exists a deeply dissected upland of undulating Lower Pars beds which maintain approxi
mately the same level as far as Mosul. The present country, to which we have given the above
title, may be looked upon as a passage area between these two forms of structure. The Lower
Kms are characterised by the increase of the number and thickness of the limestone bands and a
conesponding decrease in the amount of marl. The behaviour of the Mishraq Limestone and the
ptesence of sandstone beds have already been considered in the section on the Lower Pars under
the heading ot Geological Formations. r
Structure :—
„ T™ - cl f r a » tic ‘ffiffi uxes exist with N.N.W.-S.S.E. trend, the northern from near point 1049 on
e J. Aiaij to nea! Ain.ld Shainub, and the other through the Sinn Nishraq hills and hill 942
HifflTnV heSe ‘"I? aXe ? t le a y s 1S smotI,tered b J’ E.W., or E.N.E. to W.S.W. synclines, so that it is
fhcult to sa> with certainty that the southern axis is a prolongation ot the northern.
Southern ams.—The southern axis has two crest maxima of nearly equal height, one at hill 942
vht h ,°m oaAf Pe ;S ° f ,he Mishraq hilis ; the fal1 the axis between the two is very
hifl 07* hAA " • n"n 16 aX1S ai ? pears to suln « more to the N.W. and falls with a low dip below
, ,, ’ CfOiU which it becomes lost in the rolling country of the central area, caused, we believe,
i eelh toT'i i me ,? “n ab0Ve '- T ° the S ' SE ' of the Sitl " Mi shraq crest the axis plunges
hWe S of E Where 11 18 Cllt ol+ hy the Tigris. Beyond the river the axis swings round to a
with the’nnntr ‘if j 8 "^Jv regular with an undulating flat top, the dips at the junction
th the Upper Pais being about la degs. m the S.W., and rather more in the N.E. At the crest
T aximum ou the Slnn Mishracj peaks the actual crest has been pinched up locally and dips of 45-50
ste?ne, nortlonTfllt 1 ^ pa ^ w * over in 0116 P lace into » slight overfold to the N.E. This
teepei portion is flanked on either side by a minor syncline.
nnrthZ- 1 on the left bank, the section is very unfortunately obscured along most of its
northern portion by gravel and wash, but it is clear that the S.W. flank has suddenly steepened on
the twist of the axis Upper bars beds on the S.W. flank, lying nearly horizontal, turn up their
junction with the Lower Pars suddenly, within a few yards, to almost vertical dipping beds the
deus S C S W^R 1 ^ Tlw' 0 5 ° I 6 ??' S - S * W - 20 yards to the noi ' th 50 yards further to 15-20
‘ Bey0nd th ! S ? oln 1 t the sectlon is vei Y obscure, but some limestone in the river bed
nea! the seepages appear to be horizontal with minor rolls, probably indicating the top of the
anticline. 1 he Mishraq Limestone was not found in this section and it is presumably below the
smface of the giound. We are therefore, provisionally correlating the limestone in which the
toLom t^ VofthTse'm ^ elsewhere ’ above the Mish ^ Limestones, about 200
( q Lhe seepages on the right bank of the Tigris, at the mouth of a stream 2 miles to the north
of Sahnah, occur .below the Mishraq Limestone at the base of the Araij Limestone group in a m een
mail exposed by the erosion of the river, which here cuts deeply into the anticline Thev ar -
situated some 400 feet from the top of the Lower Pars. ‘ fhe^aie
We found no evidence of faulting, though the great increase of dips at this end of the hills
leads us to suspect the presence ot strike faults.
»• .NorUiern axis.—Tlus axis first becomes clear about a mile to the S.S.E. of the ruined village of
t in J d ShainLlb - About a third oi ' a mile to the S.S.E. of this village the Mishraq Limestone comes
Thi n e t S hfl a H e Crop P in - with a 15-20 degree pitch and dipping away steeply on the flanks
he pitch flattens out lapidly and there is a gradual rise to near point 1,049 on the T Araii As
e axis rises the dips on the flanks of the anticline become less, the whole fold, beyond the Waii
hills, merging into the dissected upland, capped with Mishraq Limestone, which stretches awav t
the south of Mosul. South-east of the Araij hills the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Mara‘i has cut across the axis of th°
anticline through the Mishraq Limstone and the Araij Limestone group below is beautifully exposed e
In the river bed at Hammam Ali we found an out crop of green aruillarinnQ i™ j
which we believe to correlate with sandstone band and the top of the Lower Pars If this is cor
Araij anticlme 01 ^ C ° niieCt ^ SUlphU1 ' SprinMS and seepa ^ es o£ Hammam Ah with the Mishraq-
r /
u.
i
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File 1450/1919 ‘Mesopotamia & Kurdistan: Geological Reports on’ [‎80r] (174/522)

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File 1450/1919 ‘Mesopotamia & Kurdistan: Geological Reports on’ [‎80r] (174/522)

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