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Read Oman’s rocks like a geologist Filter by type, search, and open any specimen to learn how it formed, where it occurs in Oman and where to see it on our tours.
Revisión científica en curso El Geo Lab está abierto como versión preliminar. Sus explicaciones se redactan a partir de las fuentes publicadas citadas en cada elemento y las está revisando un geólogo cualificado; mientras tanto, cada elemento lleva la indicación Borrador · pendiente de revisión geológica . Las ilustraciones y los modelos se identifican como tales y no son fotografías de campo. Las posiciones del mapa son zonas aproximadas.
Las explicaciones científicas detalladas del Geo Lab siguen en inglés. Se traducirán cuando nuestro geólogo las haya aprobado.
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Scientific illustration · photo needed Ígneas Peridotita Dense, dark green rock that often weathers to a rusty brown surface. Draft Foto · Omán Ígneas Gabro Coarse-grained, speckled dark and light crystals. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Ígneas Dolerita (diques laminares) Medium-grained dark rock in parallel vertical sheets. Draft Foto · Omán Ígneas Basalto y lavas almohadilladas Fine-grained dark rock forming rounded, pillow-shaped bodies. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Sedimentarias Caliza Pale grey to cream rock, often containing fossils. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Fossil Coral fósil Honeycomb or branching patterns preserved in limestone. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Fossil Estromatolito Fine wavy or domed layers in carbonate rock. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Sedimentarias Depósito glaciar Pebbles and boulders of mixed sizes in a fine-grained matrix. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Metamórficas Eclogita Green rock studded with red garnet crystals. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Metamórficas Rocas metamórficas (esquisto) Rocks with a layered, often shiny foliation. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Sedimentarias Travertino Pale, porous or banded carbonate rock. Draft
Squeezed Squeezed Hinge: where the beds bend most sharply Anticline: beds fold upward into an arch Limb: the sloping side Syncline: beds fold down into a trough Thin alternating beds make the folds easy to see LEGEND · NOT TO SCALE Light bed Darker bed FOLDED STRATA · CONCEPT SKETCH Scientific illustration · photo needed Structure Pliegue en vaina A tube- or cone-shaped fold in strongly deformed rock. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Mineral Olivino Olive-green glassy grains. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Mineral Granate Deep red, rounded crystals. Draft Scientific illustration · photo needed Mineral Calcita White to colourless mineral, the main component of limestone and travertine. Draft × Ígneas
Peridotita Dense, dark green rock Rusty-brown weathered patches Peridotita about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical peridotite hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Dense, dark green rock that often weathers to a rusty brown surface.
How it formed Formed in Earth’s upper mantle, below the oceanic crust.
In Oman Forms the mantle section of the Samail ophiolite in the Oman Mountains.
Why it matters A rare chance to walk on rock from the mantle. Its reaction with water and CO₂ is studied for natural carbon capture.
Key minerals Olivine · Pyroxene · Serpentine (alteration) Ígneas
Gabro Foto · Omán ⤢ Layered gabbro — Al Batinah Region, Oman Anita Di Chiara · CC BY 3.0 Identifications and locations are as stated by each source and are pending confirmation by our geologist.
How to recognise it Coarse-grained, speckled dark and light crystals.
How it formed Magma that cooled slowly deep in the oceanic crust.
In Oman The lower crust of the Samail ophiolite; zircon in these gabbros is dated to about 96–95 million years ago.
Why it matters Its precise ages tell us when this piece of ocean floor was born.
Key minerals Plagioclase · Pyroxene Ígneas
Dolerita (diques laminares) Medium-sized grey crystals Parallel sheet margins Dolerita (diques laminares) about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical dolerite (sheeted dykes) hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Medium-grained dark rock in parallel vertical sheets.
How it formed Magma that filled cracks as the sea floor pulled apart, feeding the lavas above.
In Oman The sheeted dyke complex of the Samail ophiolite.
Why it matters Shows how oceanic crust grows at spreading ridges. Ígneas
Basalto y lavas almohadilladas Foto · Omán ⤢ Pillow lava, Semail ophiolite — Wadi Jizzi, Oman Lionel Duchoiselle · CC BY-SA 3.0 Identifications and locations are as stated by each source and are pending confirmation by our geologist.
How to recognise it Fine-grained dark rock forming rounded, pillow-shaped bodies.
How it formed Basalt lava erupted under the sea and chilled quickly into pillows.
In Oman Pillow lavas form the upper part of the ophiolite sequence; pillow lavas are also a stop on our Jabal Akhdar route.
Why it matters Pillow shapes prove an eruption happened under water. Sedimentarias
Caliza Pale, fine-grained rock Shell fragments Caliza about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical limestone hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Pale grey to cream rock, often containing fossils.
How it formed Built up from calcium carbonate in warm, shallow seas.
In Oman Thick Permian–Cretaceous limestones (Hajar Supergroup) form much of Jabal Akhdar; younger Tertiary limestones occur around Muscat.
Why it matters Each layer records the seas that once covered Oman.
Key minerals Calcita
See it with GeoAstro Tertiary limestone — Muscat route Fossil
Coral fósil Honeycomb pattern of coral cells Coral fósil about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical fossil coral hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Honeycomb or branching patterns preserved in limestone.
How it formed Remains of corals that lived on the shallow sea floor.
In Oman Fossil corals occur in Oman’s limestones.
Why it matters Corals show that the area was once a warm, shallow sea. Fossil
Estromatolito Fine wavy layers Domed growth Estromatolito about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical stromatolite hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Fine wavy or domed layers in carbonate rock.
How it formed Built layer by layer by microbial mats that trapped sediment.
In Oman Occur in Oman’s Neoproterozoic carbonate rocks.
Why it matters Among the oldest traces of life on Earth.
See it with GeoAstro Geology and cultural hike — Jabal Akhdar route Sedimentarias
Depósito glaciar Pebbles and boulders of many sizes Fine-grained matrix Depósito glaciar about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical glacial deposit hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Pebbles and boulders of mixed sizes in a fine-grained matrix.
How it formed Debris carried and dropped by glaciers.
In Oman Neoproterozoic (Cryogenian) glacial deposits are preserved in Oman, including diamictites of the Abu Mahara Group on the Saiq Plateau of Jabal Akhdar.
Why it matters Evidence for the “Snowball Earth” ice ages.
See it with GeoAstro Geology and cultural hike — Jabal Akhdar route Metamórficas
Eclogita Round red garnet crystals Green pyroxene (omphacite) Eclogita about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical eclogite hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Green rock studded with red garnet crystals.
How it formed Formed at very high pressure, deep in a subduction zone.
In Oman High-pressure rocks of the Saih Hatat area, including As Sifah, formed in the Late Cretaceous (about 80 million years ago).
Why it matters Shows that rocks from the edge of Arabia went deep into the Earth and came back.
Key minerals Garnet · Omphacite
See it with GeoAstro Sifah eclogite — Muscat route Metamórficas
Rocas metamórficas (esquisto) Shiny minerals in aligned layers (foliation) Rocas metamórficas (esquisto) about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical metamorphic rocks (schist) hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Rocks with a layered, often shiny foliation.
How it formed Existing rocks changed by heat and pressure without melting.
In Oman The Saih Hatat area near Muscat contains metamorphic rocks formed during Late Cretaceous subduction.
Why it matters They record the pressures and temperatures rocks experienced. Sedimentarias
Travertino Banded layers Small pores Travertino about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical travertine hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Pale, porous or banded carbonate rock.
How it formed Carbonate minerals precipitated from spring water.
In Oman Forms today where groundwater reacts with mantle peridotite; on the Saiq Plateau of Jabal Akhdar, older spring travertine was deposited where water emerged from limestone.
Why it matters A natural example of rocks capturing carbon dioxide.
See it with GeoAstro Geology and cultural hike — Jabal Akhdar route Structure
Pliegue en vaina
Squeezed Squeezed Hinge: where the beds bend most sharply Anticline: beds fold upward into an arch Limb: the sloping side Syncline: beds fold down into a trough Thin alternating beds make the folds easy to see LEGEND · NOT TO SCALE Light bed Darker bed FOLDED STRATA · CONCEPT SKETCH Ilustración científica — Concept sketch of thin beds squeezed into folds. A sheath fold is a more intensely sheared, tube-shaped fold (see the slider). Not a photograph. An approved photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it A tube- or cone-shaped fold in strongly deformed rock.
How it formed Formed when rock is intensely sheared and stretched.
In Oman Sheath folds occur in the deformed rocks of the Saih Hatat region near Muscat, including spectacular folds in Permian Saiq Formation limestones at Wadi Al Mayh.
Why it matters Records the extreme deformation as rocks returned from depth.
See it with GeoAstro Wadi Al Mayh — Muscat route Mineral
Olivino Olive-green glassy grains Olivino about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical olivine hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Olive-green glassy grains.
How it formed A main mineral of Earth’s upper mantle.
In Oman The main mineral of the ophiolite’s mantle peridotite.
Why it matters Reacts with water and CO₂, forming carbonate minerals. Mineral
Granate Deep red rounded crystals Granate about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical garnet hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it Deep red, rounded crystals.
How it formed Grows in rocks under high pressure and temperature.
In Oman A key mineral of the As Sifah eclogites.
Why it matters Its chemistry helps geologists work out how deep rocks were buried. Interpretación publicada Borrador · pendiente de revisión geológica Fuentes: Searle et al. 1994 Mineral
Calcita Rhomb-shaped crystals White to colourless Calcita about 5 cm (illustrative) HAND SPECIMEN · SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION Ilustración científica of a typical calcite hand specimen, with the features that identify it — not a photograph. An approved specimen photograph is still needed.
How to recognise it White to colourless mineral, the main component of limestone and travertine.
How it formed Precipitates from sea water, spring water or living organisms.
In Oman Makes up Oman’s limestones and the travertine forming today.
Why it matters Records ancient seas and modern carbon capture. Vívelo en persona
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