Engineering Geology, and Seismic and Volcanic Hazards in the Hijaz Railway Region--Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Research Article| August 01, 1987 Engineering Geology, and Seismic and Volcanic Hazards in the Hijaz Railway Region—Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia REGINALD P. BRIGGS REGINALD P. BRIGGS Geomega, Inc., P.O. Box 13127, Pittsburgh, PA 15243 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Environmental and Engineering Geoscience (1987) xxiv (3): 403–423. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.xxiv.3.403 Article history first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation REGINALD P. BRIGGS; Engineering Geology, and Seismic and Volcanic Hazards in the Hijaz Railway Region—Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience 1987;; xxiv (3): 403–423. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.xxiv.3.403 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentBy SocietyEnvironmental and Engineering Geoscience Search Advanced Search Abstract A new standard-gauge railway from Damascus, Syria through Jordan to Medina, Saudi Arabia is under consideration by these three countries. The Feasibility Study for the railway, done in 1980, has been received favorably, though no further action is likely till the Iraq-Iran war is resolved. Three alternative routes were investigated, with potential system lengths, including branches, ranging from 1,621 to 1,701 km. The total length of corridors studied, without repetition of segments common to more than one, is 3,047 km. With a strip width of about 25 km, the area of geology treated at scale 1:250,000 thus was more than 75,000 km2. Engineering and other characteristics of the rocks were tabulated. An excerpt from this large geologic map and part of the engineering-geology table are included here.In the Hijaz Mountains of Saudi Arabia, bedrock largely is metamorphosed Precambrian volcanic and plutonic rock. Paleozoic sandstones dip northeastward from the Hijaz into southern Jordan. Central and northern Jordan chiefly exposed Cretaceous and Tertiary marine strata. Extensive Tertiary and Quaternary basalt fields are common in northern Jordan and southern Syria and overprint the Precambrian and Paleozoic terrain in the Hijaz Mountains. There are large intermontane plains in the Hijaz and sporadic coastal plains along the Red Sea. Water supply for the project is problematic.Tectonically, the region is dominated by the Red Sea graben and Dead Sea rift. The rift in particular is seismically active, so seismic risk is a factor in railway design. Volcanic eruptions are as recent as about 1850, and renewed activity is a possible, if remote, hazard to the proposed railway. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this article.