Geomorphological Features and Sedimentological Aspects of Some Coastal and Inland Sand Dunes, Jeddah Region, Saudi Arabia PDF

Keywords

geomorphology, sedimentology, minerals

Abstract

The study reported in this paper illustrates the geomorphologic features and sedimentological characteristics of coastal and inland sand dunes in the Shuayba coast, the southern Corniche of Jeddah, and along Jeddah and Makkah highway. The geomorphologic features are studied on basis of dune type, modification, wind ripples, and internal structures. Differentiation between coastal and inland dune sands has been based on grain-size parameters, cumulative curves, bivariate plots and mineralogy. Inland dune sands are finer, and better sorted with single saltation populations as compared to coastal dune sands. The heavy mineral suites of both sand dune types display a dominance of less stable minerals (e.g. amphiboles and pyroxenes) over the stable ones (e.g. zircon, tourmaline and rutile). It is concluded that the local topography and sand-carrying winds affect the distribution and morphology of the inland sand dunes along Jeddah and Makkah highway.