Potential Area for A National Geoheritage Site at Injana Area, Himreen South Mountain, Middle of Iraq

Abstract

The study area is located on both limbs of Himreen South Mountain, approximately 150 km northeast of Baghdad city alongside Baghdad- Kirkuk main road. Injana Geoheritage sites are interesting to consider for this study's geological conservation. It includes five national geological sites. The first interesting site of vertebrate fossils that showed the significance of the evolution of life. It also includes twenty-one species of vertebrate fossils within a pebbly sand bed in the Mukdadiya formation in late Miocene-Pliocene. The second interesting volcanic activity showed the significance of structural features. That involved feature showed volcanic ash deposited in the Mukdadiya formation during the late Miocene–Pliocene. The third interesting depositional environment showed the significance of ancient environments. The third site includes some ancient environments, such as a closed lagoon in the Fatha formation, fluvial in the Injana formation as well as fluvial or lacustrine environments in the Mukdadiya formation. The fourth interesting economic deposit showed the significance of rock types. That contains some industrial rocks and building materials such as gypsum in the Fatha formation and gravel and sand in the Mukdadiya formation and in the Quaternary sediments. The fifth interesting burnt hill showed the significance of surface and subsurface features. That contains unaltered and baked sediments capped by fused rocks. The suggested study areas are perhaps protected as a national geoheritage sites because of the inventory characterizations of geosites criteria, besides it is considered the first study on the national geoheritage in Iraq.