This full day tour is for students and keen amateur
geologists and will be highly informative.
Oman’s rare mountains of many colours were created
some sixty-five million years ago when the dark
ophiolite of the oceanic crust slid up over the
continental crust of the Arabian plate. Normally
in the collision of continental and oceanic plates,
the oceanic plate, which is heavier, slides under
the lighter continental plate; but, in Oman, the
reverse happened; and this is one of the reasons
that Oman is known as a Geological Wonderland.
The fanciful black mountains at the Al Bustan
Palace Hotel, which crown the beach, are made
of this exotic rock from far beneath the sea and
there are other examples of ophiolite formations
along the coast in the capital area, which contrast
dramatically with the chalky yellow of the sedimentary
cliffs characteristic of the bays east of Muscat.
On this cruise, Oman’s most knowledgeable geologists
will explain the many fascinating features of
the Geology of Oman’s breathtaking coastline from
Muscat and Muttrah to Bandar Khayran and beyond.
eated
some sixty-five million years ago when the dark
ophiolite of the oceanic crust slid up over the
continental crust of the Arabian plate. Normally
in the collision of continental and oceanic plates,
the oceanic plate, which is heavier, slides under
the lighter continental plate; but, in Oman, the
reverse happened; and this is one of the reasons
that Oman is known as a Geological Wonderland.
