Abstract
The geology of the Tertiary-Recent Marra mountains is shown on photogeological maps and described using data from short field visits and from previous literature. The 200 km long mass is aligned N-S parallel to basement trends; it comprises a stratified complex 2000 m thick of olivine basalts, pyroclastics and trachytes. Coarse detrital deposits testify to concomitant erosion. The spectacular Deriba caldera contains a deep crater lake and associated hot springs and fumeroles. The Marra mountains lie at the intersection of two transcontinental tectono-volcanic zones, ENE from Cameroon to Red Sea and SSE from Libya to Kenya.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almond, D. C., Ahmed, F. andKhalil, B. E., 1969,An excursion to the Bayuda volcanic field of northern Sudan. Bull. Volcan.,33, p. 549–565.
Al Tunisi, Muhamed Ibn, 1845,Voyage au Darfur. Chez Benjamin Duport, Paris.
Andrew, G., 1948,Geology of the Sudan, inTothill, J. D., Editor,Agriculture in the Sudan, University Press, Oxford.
Babiker, I. M., 1971,Geology of Sheet 54-F, Tagabo Hills. Geol. Surv. Sudan Mem.,4.
Burton, A. N. andWickens, G. E., 1966,Jebel Marra volcano, Sudan. Nature, Lond.,210, p. 1146–1147.
Coulon, C. andReyre, Y., 1968,Contribution à l’étude du volcanisme postérieur aux Grés de Nubie, dans la partie centrale du Darfur (Soudan). C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris,266, p. 1821–1824.
Edwards, W. N., 1926,Fossil plants from the Nubian Sandstone of eastern Darfur. Quart. J. geol. Soc. Lond.,82, p. 94–100.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1968,Land and Water resources survey in the Jebel Marra area, the Sudan, Final Report, FAO/SF:48/SUD-17, Rome.
Gillan, J. A., 1918,Jebel Marra and the Deriba Lakes. Sudan Notes and Records,1, p. 263–267.
Hammerton, D., 1966,Hot springs and fumeroles at Jebel Marra, Sudan. Nature, Lond.,209, p. 1290.
—————, 1968,Recent discoveries in the caldera of Jebel Marra. Sudan Notes and Records,49, p. 136–148.
Hobbs, H. F. C., 1918,Notes on Jebel Marra, Darfur. Geogr. Journ.,52, p. 357–363.
Hunting Technical Services Ltd., 1958,Jebel Marra investigations. Report on Phase I Studies. Report to Ministry of Irrigation and Hydro-Electric Power and Ministry of Agriculture, Government of the Republic of Sudan.
Illies, J. H., 1969,An intercontinental belt of the World rift system. Tectonophysics,8, p. 5–29.
Lebon, J. H. G. andRobertson, V. C., 1961,The Jebel Marra, Darfur, and its region. Geogr. J.,127, p. 30–49.
Lynes, H., 1921,Notes on the natural history of Jebel Marra. Sudan Notes and Records,4, p. 119–137.
————— andCampbell Smith, W., 1921,Preliminary note on the rocks of Darfur. Geol. Mag.,68, p. 206–215.
Nachtigal, G., 1875,Dar For, die neue Agyptische Provinz, und Dr. Nachtigal’s Forschungen zwischen Kuku und Chartum. Petermann’s Geogr. Mitt.,8, p. 281–286.
Reyre, Y., 1967,Missions au Dar-fur, 1967. Géologie. Dossiers de la Recherche Cooperative sur Programme No. 45. Cent. Nat. Rech. Sci. Paris.
Sandford, K. S., 1935,Geological observations on the north-west frontiers of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and the adjoining part of the southern Libyan Desert. Quart. J. Geol. Soc. Lond.,91, p. 323–381.
—————, 1935,Extinct volcanoes and associated intrusions in the Libyan Desert. Trans. Roy. Geol. Soc. Cornwall,16, p. 331–358.
Tilho, J., 1917,Exploration du commandant Tilho en Afrique Centrale. Borkou — Ennedi — Tibesti — Darfur 1912–17. La Géographie,31, p. 401–417.
Vail, J. R., 1971a, Dyke swarms and volcanic activity in NE Africa. Proc. Symp. Geol. of Libya, Tripoli 1969.
-----, 1971b, Geological reconnaissance in part of Berber District, Northern Province, Sudan. Bull. Geol. Surv. Sudan,18.
————— andRex, D. C., 1971,Potassium-argon age determinations from pre-Nubian basement of Sudan. Proc. geol. Soc. Lond.,1664, p. 205–214.
Whiteman, A. J., 1971,Geology of Sudan Republic. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vail, J.R. Jebel Marra, a dormant volcano in Darfur Province, Western Sudan. Bull Volcanol 36, 251–265 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596994
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596994