Geology of Qatar - Essay Example

Geology of Qatar Geology of Qatar Qatar is one of the most renowned countries globally for several reasons. One of the reasons that make the country renowned is the robust economy that the country enjoys. Qatar is one of the blessed economies worldwide, and commands a strong flight industry. This is one of the reasons that have made Qatar known for several decades. In addition to the stable and expanding economy, Qatar is also widely known for its political system. In addition, it is significant to note that Qatar as a nation is most renowned due to the fact that it has several natural resources1. These natural resources contribute actively towards the realization of the skyrocketing economies experienced in the nation. For instance, there are several places in the country of Qatar supplied with natural gas and oil deposits2. These are some of the powerful natural resources that make the country gain international recognition, respect as well as realize robust economies. In addition to natural gas, Qatar also has several deposits of oil fields. This makes the nation on e of the largest oil producers in the world. This works well with boosting as well as expanding the economies of the state of Qatar. Other than the natural reserves, it is of crucial significance to note that the country of Qatar also boasts of a collection of beautiful sceneries, geological features as well as landscapes. Some of these geological features as well as scenic beauties have contributed massively towards strengthening the economy of Qatar in several diverse ways. For instance, the myriad of features have ensured heavy flow of tourists into the nation of Qatar to have an experience as well as identify with some of the natural features. This has ensured generation as well as creation of foreign exchange, improved employment conditions as well as upholding nation’s pride. The foreign exchange as well as income earned from such tourism activities has led to massive economic growth in the region. This paper is going to explore some of the geologic features found in the sovereign state of Qatar. In addition, the paper is going to focus on some of the surface features, the terrain as well as landscape of the nation of Qatar. It is of critical significance to note that Qatar is one of the states with sabkhas forming some of the geologic landform features. The sabkhas are always characterized with dry burrows. This presents greater risks to geologists due to the fact that such dry burrows may always host deadly animals like snakes that can bite geologists. This presents one of the challenges of exploration of such sabkhas3. However, it is important to note that the region is also served with several forms of sand dunes. Sand dunes are some of the geological features of desert environments. The sand dunes are more concentrated in the southern parts of Qatar. It is observed that in the southern parts of the nation, there is more concentration of very large barchan sand dunes. However, in the northern parts of the region of Qatar, there is no presence of such sand dunes, or a negligible fraction of sand dunes is found on the northern parts4. This means that due to the effects of strong winds characteristic of the desserts, the sand dunes have moved from the north to the southern parts. The presence of sand dunes is one of the greatest attractions of tourists, thereby contributing towards strengthening of the tourism industry in Qatar. This is associated with boosting the economy. The geology of Qatar is very interesting. Due to the strong wind actions taking place in the desert region, structural domes, peninsula, as well as deflations to the landscape have been formed5. These have massively acted as tourist attraction sites thereby contributing to enhancing as well as strengthening the economy. In Qatar, there is a Holocene rise in the sea level. This has contributed massively in cutting off the sand supply to the south. This has led to creation of a beautiful deflation on the northern Qatar. These are some of the geologic features found in the northern parts of Qatar. Qatar is renowned for its dolomite as well as limestone peninsula. This is subdued topography. Some parts of Qatar are characterized by huge proportions of emergent salt plug. Some of the salt plugs in Qatar include Halul Island as well as Shraouh Island. These are found in the eastern parts of Qatar, in the offshore sides. In addition, there are several salt series in Qatar found in Hormuz dolomite which is also considered an Infra-Cambrian found in the Eastern Salt Basin of Qatar6. Within the Infra-Cambrian, Hormuz dolomites found in the two regions including Halul as well as Shraouh Islands also have some forms of geologic features7. Some of these geologic features include carbonate evaporate sabkhas cycles. In addition to the carbonate evaporates, the region of Qatar also has several forms of stromatolitic bindstones. In addition to the above, there are several forms of alkali feldspar as well as gypsum as some of the geologic features of the region. It is important to note that several forms of inland cliffs, commonly known as zekrits as some of the geologic landforms8. This is also punctuated with several plateaus of tertiary limestones, as well as desert plains. Such zekrits are characterized by sandy features. Some regions where zekrits are found are associated with ravines as well as large gullies as some of the geologic features. In such areas, the landscape is always characterized by concave slopes. Such gullies are always associated with overhanging sides, also known as cantilevers. The region of Dukhan Sabkha is also associated with several depressions in the western parts of Qatar. This location is also associated with limestones as well as dolomites. In summary, it is important to note that Qatar is one of the countries in the world with several landforms as well as geologic features. Some of the geologic features found in Qatar include sand dunes, large sand cliffs as well as depressions. Qatar also has several forms of rocks and salt flats. These are always associated with limestones as well as dolomite rocks. The surface of most desert areas is also characterized by sand, as well as sandy features, gypsum, plains as well as other undulating terrains. These are some of the geologic features found in Qatar. References Barth, Hans-Jörg, and Benno Böer. 2002. Sabkha ecosystems. volume 1, volume 1. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic. Fromherz, Allen James. 2011. Qatar: a modern history. London: I.B.Tauris & Co. Goudie, Andrew. 2013. Arid and semi-arid geomorphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511794261. Hyne, Norman J. 2012. Nontechnical guide to petroleum geology, exploration, drilling, & production. Tulsa, Okla: PennWell Corporation. Parsons, Anthony J., and Athol D. Abrahams. 2009. Geomorphology of desert environments / edited by Anthony J. Parsons and Athol D. Abrahams. [New York]: Springer Science+Business Media. Read More