New Potassium/Argon Ages For The Volcanic Rocks Of Halul Island (Qatar)

Abstract

The only rocks of igneous origin known to be exposed in Qatar are those of Halul and Shra'Auh Islands. They occur within a salt diapir and the age of these rocks is uncertain. They have generally been assigned to the Hormuz Formation; approximately Middle Cambrian age. A few unreliable isotopic ages were obtained earlier and led to inconclusive results. In this paper, new K/Ar ages obtained by the writer are presented and discussed. They indicate a tectono-thermal event which took place some 33 million years ago, although the rocks themselves are considered to be much older.