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Depositional environments and facies development of the Cenomanian–Turonian Galala and Maghra el Hadida formations of the Southern Galala Plateau (Upper Cretaceous, Eastern Desert, Egypt)

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Abstract

The Cenomanian–Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) Galala and Maghra el Hadida formations of the Southern Galala Plateau in Wadi Araba (northern Eastern Desert, Egypt) represent marine depositional systems developing in response to the early Late Cretaceous transgression at the southern margin of the Neotethyan Ocean in tropical paleolatitudes. A facies analysis (litho-, bio- and microfacies) of these successions shows the presence of 22 facies types (FTs, six are related to the Galala Formation, while the Maghra el Hadida Formation is represented by 16 FTs). The Galala Formation was deposited in a fully marine lagoonal environment developing in response to a latest Middle to early Late Cenomanian transgression. The rich suspension- and deposit-feeding macrobenthos of the Galala Formation indicate meso- to eutrophic (i.e., green water) conditions. The facies types of the uppermost Cenomanian–Turonian Maghra el Hadida Formation suggest deposition on a homoclinal carbonate ramp with sub-environments ranging from deep-subtidal basin to intertidal back-ramp. Major and rapid shifts in depositional environments, related to (relative) sea-level changes, occurred in the mid-Late Cenomanian, the Early–Middle Turonian boundary interval, the middle part of the Middle Turonian and the Middle–Late Turonian boundary interval.

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Acknowledgments

The paper greatly benefited from the insightful reviews of Prof. Dr. B. Granier (Brest) and Prof. Dr. J. Kuss (Bremen). We also acknowledge the editorial work of Prof. Dr. F.T. Fürsich (Erlangen). Furthermore, we thank Prof. Dr. Abdel-Galil Hewaidy (Al-Azhar University, Egypt) and Prof. Dr. Mohamed F. Aly (Cairo University, Egypt) for their cooperation during fieldwork. Financial support by the German Research Foundation (DFG grant WI 1743-6/1 to MW) is gratefully acknowledged and this paper is a contribution to the aforementioned project. EN acknowledges support by the Egyptian Missions Sector (High education ministry) for a stay in Germany.

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  1. Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie, Sektion Paläozoologie, Königsbrücker Landstr. 159, 01109, Dresden, Germany

    Markus Wilmsen

  2. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt

    Emad Nagm

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  1. Markus Wilmsen
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  2. Emad Nagm
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Correspondence to Markus Wilmsen.

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Wilmsen, M., Nagm, E. Depositional environments and facies development of the Cenomanian–Turonian Galala and Maghra el Hadida formations of the Southern Galala Plateau (Upper Cretaceous, Eastern Desert, Egypt). Facies 58, 229–247 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-011-0280-2

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