Analysis of Gravel Shapes Along the Khazir River, North of Iraq

Abstract

This research work deals with the analyses of the shape and size of gravels within the terrace deposit of the Khazir River in the north of Iraq. The degree of gravels’ roundness and flatness indicates that they were transported in wet climate conditions during the deposition of the Bai Hassan Formation of the Pliocene-Pleistocene age. Typical increasing roundness and decreasing flatness along the channel (downstream) refer to the stable flow of the paleo River of Khazir. The higher degree of roundness and flatness of the studied 500 pebbles among the terraces came from the already rounded pebbles of the Bai Hassan Formation, and are not due to the rolling of the sediments of the river that were deposited as terraces along the banks. This case is the only acceptable clue for the origin of the rounded and flattened pebbles that were found in the studied terraces; otherwise, the pebbles wouldn’t be having such roundness and flatness. The aim of this research work is to indicate the roundness and flatness of the gravels within the terrace deposits along the Khazir River.