Structural development of the Precambrian basement in the Bir Safsaf-Aswân area, SW-Egypt

Abstract

Structural investigations, especially on quartz c-axis fabrics, combined with petrological work, were carried out in Precambrian rocks from the basement outcrops Bir Safsaf, Gebel el Asr und Gebel Umm Shâghir in the Western Desert in SW Egypt. The principal rock types are migmatites with local mylonite zones. The foliation and shear planes strike WNW-ESE, the axes of the wide and open folds NE-SW to N-S. Investigation of recrystallization features and mineral parageneses lead to P–T-estimates for the different stages of the metamorphic evolution. They range from early granulite facies down to greenschist facies. Quartz-c-axis fabrics of the migmatites and mylonites are similar (crossed-girdle fabrics) but they have a different regional orientation of the strain ellipsoid. Shear zones developed after the main migmatite facies event. The geological evolution of the basement outcrops in Bir Safsaf, Gebel el Asr and Gebel Umm Shâghir is comparable and the whole region is thought to be part of the East Sahara Craton.