Preliminary investigations on volcanism of the Sadah region (Yemen Arabic Republic)

Petrographic, geochemical and geochronological data on the volcanic sequences of the Sadah region (Yemen Arabic Republic — Y.A.R.) are presented and discussed. Two main volcanic units have been recognized in this area. The older unit (Trap Series) is characterized by alkaline and transitional basalts with minor differentiates. K/Ar age determinations on these rocks give values ranging from 30 to 22 m.y.B.P. The dominance of poorly evolved rock types indicates a fairly rapid ascent of the magmas. The feeding fissures are thought to be NNW-SSE trending fractures. This is deduced by the occurrence of many dykes cutting through the underlying basament which are comparable in both chemical composition and age range to those of the Trap Series. The younger unit (Al Harf Series) is made up of alkaline basalts whose K/Ar ages are around 10 m.y.B.P. and outcrops in a tectonic depression defined by NNW-SSE trending normal faults. The volcanism in the northern Y.A.R. extends from late Oligocene to late Miocene, and follows regional structures parallel to the present-day spreading axis of the Red Sea.