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Structural analyses and geological studies of the Late Precambrian Basement Complex in Wadi Faliq El Sahl–Faliq El Waar area, North Eastern Desert, Egypt

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Abstract

The Wadi Faliq El Sahl–Faliq El Waar area comprises four various types of rocks including metavolcanics, older granites, Hammamat sediments, and younger granites of monzogranite and syenogranite composition. From the various structural analyses in the investigated area, the main trends controlling the structural and tectonic framework are ENE-WSW and NE-SW, while the trends NNE-SSW, WNW-ESE, and N-S are less abundant. Three major phases of deformation are detected in the study area, each of which gives its specific trends according to the applied stress axis during the time of deformation. The first phase shows compressive stress whose σ1 maximum compressional axis was E-W trend (N81°W). The second phase is a compression phase in which the σ1 maximum compression axis was directed N13°W. The third phase represents a trans-tensional (extensional) stress system, in which the maximum tension force (σ1) is in the N-S trend. The study area passed through four stages of evolution, which are (1) the arc-metavolcanic formation with island arc assemblage and the intrusion of older granitoids during the inter-collision of the island arcs; (2) the tectonic processes forming the inter-mountainous basins; (3) the folding of the Hammamat basin under Najd-related shear zones; and (4) the intrusion of syenogranite and uplifting of the Hammamat sediments during the Late Precambrian rifting. The potash-rich outer zone of pegmatite bosses in the younger granites recorded high values of gamma radioactivity with U content.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their deepest gratitude and appreciation to the reviewers for their fruitful guidance and accurate revision of this manuscript. We also extend our sincere thanks to Abdullah M. Al-Amri, “the chief editor of the Journal of Arabian Journal of Geosciences,” for his effective communication in publishing this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Geology Department, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt

    El-Sayed Soliman El-Wakel & Mohamed Mohamed El-Sayed

  2. Nuclear Materials Authority, Cairo, Egypt

    Hassan Ismail El-Sundoly & Mahmoud Hani Shalaby

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  1. El-Sayed Soliman El-Wakel
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  2. Hassan Ismail El-Sundoly
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  3. Mohamed Mohamed El-Sayed
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  4. Mahmoud Hani Shalaby
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Correspondence to El-Sayed Soliman El-Wakel.

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I declare that no part of the work referred to in this manuscript has been submitted for publication in any other journal nor is it funded by any institution. I also declare that the authors agree to publish this manuscript and that they have no competing interests.

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El-Wakel, ES.S., El-Sundoly, H.I., El-Sayed, M.M. et al. Structural analyses and geological studies of the Late Precambrian Basement Complex in Wadi Faliq El Sahl–Faliq El Waar area, North Eastern Desert, Egypt. Arab J Geosci 14, 2025 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08399-z

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