Harrat Rahat: The Geoheritage Value of the Youngest Long-Lived Volcanic Field in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Harrat Rahat is a volcanic field that consists of over 500 individual volcanoes (Fig. 3.1), many of them with multiple vents forming compound edifices (Camp and Roobol 1989; Coleman and Gregory 1983; El Difrawy et al. 2013; Moufti et al. 2013a). Harrat Rahat was formed over the past 10 million of years (Moufti et al. 2013a), and it is still considered to be an active volcanic region as it has had at least two historic eruptions (Camp et al. 1987; Moufti et al. 2013a). The volcanic field consists of extensive lava fields (Murcia et al. 2014) and various types of volcanic cones and explosion craters (Camp et al. 1991; El Difrawy et al. 2013; Moufti and Hashad 2005; Moufti et al. 2011), each of them is perfectly exposed due to the arid climate and lack of vegetation, and many of them are relatively easy to access (Fig. 3.2). The field is located nearby one of the holiest cities of Islam—Al Madinah—and also hosts the youngest volcanoes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which have historical and cultural significance (Fig. 3.1). Harrat Al Madinah is the northern part of the Harrat Rahat and the best studied in the Harrat Rahat. The distinction between Harrat Rahat and Harrat Al Madinah is loosely constrained and it has a traditional and geographic connotation rather than geological reasoning. In a similar way, different parts of Harrat Rahat have local names that refer to nearby settlements or other geographical features.