ISSN 00168521, Geotectonics, 2010, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 271282. Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2010.

Original Russian Text G.A.F. dAlmeida, 2010, published in Geotektonika, 2010, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 7790.

Structural Evolution History of the Red Sea Rift

G. A. F. dAlmeida
Russian State Geological Prospecting University, 23 ul. MiklukhoMaklaya, Moscow, 117997 Russia
email: almeidafranck@hotmail.com
Received May 20, 2008

AbstractThe Red Sea Rift has been an object of comprehensive studies by several generations of geologists
and geophysicists. Many publications and openfile reports provide insights into the geological history of this
rift. Paleogene and Cretaceous rocks, which are considered to be prerift, are locally exposed at the margins
of the Red Sea Rift. At the same time, some evidence indicates that at least some of these rocks are related to
the early stage of the evolution of the Red Sea Rift. The available geological data suggest that the Red Sea
region started its active evolution in the Cretaceous. As follows from lithostratigraphic data, the Cretaceous
Paleogene trough that predated the OligoceneQuaternary rift covered this region completely or partially.
The preOligocene magmatism and geological evidence show that the CretaceousPaleogene trough was of
the rift type. The CretaceousEocene and OligoceneQuaternary phases of rifting were separated by an
epoch of uplifting and denudation documented by the erosion surface and unconformity.
DOI: 10.1134/S0016852110030052

INTRODUCTION Cretaceous rocks are exposed in its marginal zone and

The Red Sea Rift is a giant grabenlike depression
separated from asymmetric uplifted blocks of the Late
Precambrian PanAfrican basement by faults and
related marginal scarps [18, 33]. The rift extends for
about 1900 km having a width of 150300 km and
consists of the Main Trough, including the shelf of the
Red Sea and coastal plains of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea,
Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, and the deepwater Axial
Trough (Fig. 1). The Main Trough is underlain by the
ancient continental crust and consists of two sepa
rated, almost symmetrical parts of the same basin up
to 56 km deep. The separated parts of this basin are
filled largely with Neogene sediments.
The Axial Trough is about 50 km wide and charac
terized by oceanic crust formed in the Pliocene and
Quaternary between 15 and 24 N [2, 3, 6, 35]. Linear
magnetic anomalies, discontinuous and of low ampli
tude in the Main Trough and clearly expressed in the
Axial Trough, are inherent to the Red Sea Rift System.
The origin of these anomalies remains unclear because
they are localized not only in the Axial Trough with
oceanic crust but also in the epicontinental shelf zone
of the Main Trough. Some geologists and geophysi
cists, e.g., Girdler [20, 21], have concluded that the
oceanic crust also exists beneath the shelf zone. Some
important structural features of the Red Sea consid
ered in this paper remain unascertained and have not
yet been discussed in the literature to the right degree.
PRENEOGENE ROCKS
Although the Main Trough of the Red Sea Rift is
filled with Neogene sediments, older Cenozoic and
penetrated by wells [11, 13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 29, 30];
their implications for the geological evolution of the
rift are so far poorly understood.
Cretaceous rocks are known from several localities
at the margin of the rift. The oldest rocks reported
from the Main Trough are inequigranular continental
sandstone and shale (partly red beds) of the Malha
Formation up to 800 m thick that occurs at the western
flank in the coastal Safaga and Quseir districts of Egypt
(Figs. 1, 2). Their BarremianAptian age is deter
mined from correlation with the sections near the Gulf
of Suez [25, 30]. Similar and coeval sedimentary rocks
occur beyond the Red Sea Rift on the opposite slopes
of the ArabianNubian Shield [23, 29]. In particular,
these are the fluvial and deltaic sandstone of the
Nubian facies up to 100 m thick locally exposed along
the Sudanese coast of the Red Sea; the Neocomian
Barremian continental sedimentary rocks of the Amba
Aradam Formation that crop out along the coast; and
the AptianAlbian continental sedimentary rocks of
the Tawilla Formation traced along the Saudi coast of
the Red Sea.
The Upper Cretaceous strata are more abundant
along the margin of the Red Sea Rift. In the Quseir
district, the following rocks crop out (from bottom to
top): the Cenomanianlower Senonian shale with
limestone interbeds of the Wata and Raha formations
(up to 1070 m); the upper ConiacianMaastrichtian
limestone, marlstone, and shale of the Duwi and Mat
ulla formations (up to 630 m); and the Cretaceous
Paleocene limestone (100150 m).
These sequences are characterized by variable
thickness and facies, local unconformities, and scour

271
272 dALMEIDA

32 36 40 44

28
Maqna 28

Safaga Aznam
Quseir

Dailan
Zabargad Is. Saudi Arabia

Egypt Medina
24
24

Abu Shagara1 Djidda

Maghersum1 20

Port Sudan Suakin1

Africa
Tokar delta
Durwara2

Sudan Mansiyah1
Jizan
Amber1
1 W1
2 16
Eritrea
3
4 Massawa
5
6
7
8 Yemen
0 100 200 km
9 Afar
Djibuti
36 40 44

Fig. 1. Schematic geological map of the Red Sea region. (14) Sedimentary rocks: (1) Quaternary, (2) Cenozoic, (3) Mesozoic,
(4) Paleozoic; (5) Precambrian basement; (6) Miocene volcanic rocks; (7) scarp; (8) faults and dikes; (9) well.

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010

 STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION HISTORY OF THE RED SEA RIFT 273

KK851 Wadi Quseir Maghersum1

456.25 km 1156.25 km

Clay and shale

Sandstone, Sand, clay, and
limestone, and siltstone evaporites
Sandstone and
shale
P2

Cherty limestone
Sand, sandstone,
and shale
P1

K2P
1
Marlstone

Limestone and claystone Basalt, gravelstone,

K2 siltstone, and limestone

2254 m
Sandstone and limestone Siltstone and limestone

Basement

K1

3272 m Sandstone
KK851
Wadi
Quseir

4350 m Maghersum1

Fig. 2. Correlation of sections along the western marginal zone of the Main Trough of the Red Sea Rift.

ing and redeposition of sediments near local basement
uplifts, e.g., the SufrelDara, Ras Gharib, Mellaha,
and Port Safaga horsts [1].
The Upper Cretaceous marine and continental
sedimentary rocks crop out in the Sudanese segment
of the marginal zone at latitude 22 N, where they are
known as the Mukawar Formation [13, 16, 25]. In the
coastal sections near the marginal scarp, the formation
is composed of red beds and gray fluvial quartz sand
stone with interbeds of dark gray and reddish brown
clay, marlstone, and limestone with mollusk and ostra
code remains (Brachycythere cf. ledaforma, Isohabro
cythere sp., Buntonian sp., Bairdia sp., etc.), which
correspond to the Maastrichtian or Coniacianearly
Maastrichtian. The total thickness of the section
reaches 400 m.
The Mukawar Formation is penetrated by the
Maghersum1 Well drilled near the Sudanese coast of
the Red Sea (Figs. 1, 2). These are continental and
partly nearshore marine sand and sandstone, as well
as marine shale, all with limestone interlayers. White,
gray, pale orange, and reddish brown sand and sand
stone are finegrained, often dolomitic, clayey, and
glauconitebearing. The thickness of the formation in

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010

274 dALMEIDA
the well is 180 m, 30 m of which is made up of sand
stone. In the Maghersum1 Well, the Mukawar For
mation overlaps with unconformity the cenotypal
fractured basalt 200 m in apparent thickness. The age
of this basalt is unknown; however, judging from the
relationship with the Mukawar Formation, it is Creta
ceous, most likely Upper Cretaceous. It cannot be
ruled out that this basalt lies within the Upper Creta
ceous section rather than at its bottom. The total
thickness of this section exceeds 700 m (Mukawar
Formation and basaltic unit).
At the Arabian flank of the Red Sea Rift, the Upper
Cretaceous sedimentary rocks were revealed in out
crops near Djidda at 22 N [11, 14, 22, 25] and
approximately at 27 N in the Aznam district. It is
assumed that these rocks make up a continuous sec
tion with the Paleocene and Eocene rocks unconform
ably overlapped by Oligocene sediments [32]. In the
south of the Arabian coast of the Red Sea at 1745 S, in
the nearshore zone, the Mansiyah1 Well penetrated
the Eocene gray shale with conglomerate, salt, and
finegrained sandstone liying at a depth of 36004000 m
beneath Miocene evaporites. It is thought that the
Eocene rocks are the upper part of the Cretaceous
Paleogene section that is exposed near Djidda [20].
Finally, the Cretaceous continental rocks cut through
by Miocene gabbro and granophyre belonging to the
Tihama Asir Igneous Complex are penetrated in the
east of the Djirani Coastal Plain at a greater distance
from the Red Sea [39].
The Upper Cretaceous rocks are exposed on
Zabargad Island in the northern Red Sea 15 km west of
the Axial Trough [31]. These are marine micaceous
sandstone and black shale with limestone interlayer
200300 m in total thickness that overlie the ancient
metamorphic basement and are overlapped with
unconformity by the Miocene (probably, Oligocene
evaporites). The Cretaceous rocks on Zabargad Island
are cut through by preMiocene (preOligocene?)
doleritic and basaltic dikes [24].
As follows from the aforesaid, the Cretaceous rocks
occur at the flanks and in the central part of the Main
Trough and, in contrast to the thin continental
sequences of the western and eastern blocks of the
ArabianNubian Shield, are composed of continental
and shallowwater marine sediments. This regional
lateral lithofacies zoning of the Upper Cretaceous
rocks is of basic importance for the interpretation of
the preCenozoic evolution of the Red Sea region.
Paleogene rocks are known from several areas at the
western and eastern flanks of the Main Trough of the
Red Sea Rift. In the Quseir district, the marine Paleo
gene section consists of the following units (from bot
tom to top): the Paleocene shale of the Esna Forma
tion (250 m); the lower Eocene cherty limestone of the
Tebes Formation (970 m); and middle Eocene sand
stone with limestone members of the Mokkatam For
mation (incomplete thickness is 650 m) [15].
Synsedimentation slumps with olistoliths are noted
in this section.
To the northwest of Quseir, at a certain distance from
the rift, the Eocene sequence consists of lacustrine lime
stone and marlstone with sandstone and siltstone inter
beds [23, 29]. The strata dip at angles of 2030 and over
lap the eroded marine limestone of the Tebes Formation,
filling together with the latter a narrow graben extending
in the northwestern direction [26].
In the Sudanese segment of the western marginal
rift zone, the Mukawar Formation is overlapped with
scouring by the Hamamit Formation, whose Eocene
lower Miocene [16] or Paleocenelower Miocene age
[15] is determined from correlation with the marginal
rift section in the north. The lithology of this sequence
varies from the coastal plain toward the Red Sea. Red
sandstone with conglomerate interlayers up to 250 m
in apparent thickness is predominant near the mar
ginal scarps. In the Maghersum1 Well, the Hamamit
Formation is composed of redbrown coarsegrained
quartz sandstone with sporadic conglomerate lenses
containing wellrounded quartz and claystone peb
bles. Basaltic tuffaceous breccia is noted in the lower
part of the formation. In the abovementioned well,
the thickness of this formation is 1400 m. Basaltic
lavas and tuffs occur in the lower 250 m of this forma
tion penetrated by the Abu Shagara1 Well drilled on
the shelf north of the Maghersum1 Well.
On the Eritrean coast, the Amber1 Well pene
trated claystone at a depth 3800 m beneath the
Miocene evaporites; this rock has been dated at 36.5 Ma
(Eocene) with the KAr method [1].
On the Arabian coast of the Red Sea in the Usfan
and Shumaishi districts near Djidda, wells penetrated
continental and shallowwater marine terrigenous and
carbonate rocks with flora and fauna of Paleocene
Oligocene mollusks [11, 14]. These rocks fill grabens
and dip at angles of 1525, being overlapped with
insignificant angular unconformity by Miocene sedi
ments. In the upper part of the section, the terrigenous
rocks contain basaltic flows and tuff layers. Basaltic
members up to 320 m thick are also contained in the
EoceneOligocene section exposed near the Khor
Shinab.
The Eocene and Oligocene sediments fill narrow
grabens between the block of Precambrian basement
along the eastern (Arabian) marginal zone (Fig. 3) far
to the north of Djidda [36], in particular, near the
Jebel Dailan and Wadi AlAznam (Fig. 1). In the first
of these localities, the Eocene and Oligocene rocks are
composed largely of sandstone and siltstone; their
incomplete thickness (the bottom is not exposed)
reaches 1400 m [34]. Basaltic flows occur in the lower
part of the Eocene section [32]. The Oligocene sedi
ments uniform in lithology near AlAznam fill a gra
ben about 100 km in extent and 815 km in width,
which is oriented at an acute angle to the Red Sea
coast. The sequence, ~500 m thick, contains basaltic
flows.
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010
 STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION HISTORY OF THE RED SEA RIFT 275

Oligocene Miocene
SSW NNE

(a)

~5 km

W E

(b)

~2 km
Oligocene
Eocene

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Fig. 3. Schematic geological sections across the eastern coastal zone of the Red Sea in (a) Maqna and (b) Jebel Dailan districts,
after [32]. (13) Miocene rocks: (1) evaporites, (2) marlstone, (3) reef limestone; (4) Oligocene sandstone and sand; (5, 6)
Eocene rocks: (5) basalt, (6) conglomerate; (7) Precambrian basement.

To the south of Djidda, the Paleogene rocks occur
in the coastal Jizan Plain (Fig. 1), where they are also
confined to the extended marginal graben. The weath
ered surface of the Precambrian basement is over
lapped here by conglomerate and siltstone of the
Ayanah Formation that gives way upsection to basaltic
lavas and tuffs of the Ad Darb Formation and a mem
ber of intercalating dacite, rhyolite, and ignimbrite
and continental thinbedded clastic rocks of the Baid
Formation. The volcanic rocks similar to those contained
in the Baid Formation are known as the Liyah Formation.
The Baid Formation is Oligocene in age [39].
In general, the data mentioned above testify to the
extensive occurrence of CretaceousPaleogene rocks
beneath the Miocene complexes of the Main Trough.
This statement is reflected in the once proposed model
of the deep structure of the rift complex based on the
results of drilling and seismic stratigraphy [15] (Fig. 4).
Moreover, in order to study the geological history of
the region to estimate the petroleum resource poten
tial of the rift, the American Geological Survey com
piled a chart of preNeogene stratigraphic units of the
Red Sea region (Fig. 5). This chart and the correlation
of the stratigraphic sections in the Red Sea Rift [13]
not only confirm the extensive coverage by the Creta
ceousPaleogene sequences in this region but also
demonstrate the spatiotemporal relationships of vari
ous facies and local unconformities. Thus, the avail
able data indicate that since the Cretaceous the Red
Sea region has been unstable.
NEOGENE AND QUATERNARY SEDIMENTS
Miocene sediments are predominant in the section
of the Main Trough of the Red Sea Rift (Fig. 4) and are
characterized by lateral and vertical lithofacies vari
ability. One of the beststudied complete Miocene sec
tions was penetrated by exploratory wells at the
Sudanese coast of the Red Sea. The following lithos
tratigraphic units are recognized here (from bottom to
top): Maghersum Group, Belaim Formation, Dun
gunab Formation, Zeit Formation, and Abu Shagara
Group [15, 16].
The Maghersum Group (lowermiddle Miocene)
consists of marine clastic rocks separated from the
underlying Hamamit Formation by the erosion sur
face and grading to the overlying Miocene sediments.
Neoalveolina Borelis sp., Miogypsina sp., Elphidium sp.,
Penetoplis sp., and Planktonic sp. were found in the
cliffs. The Abu Shagara1 and Durwara2 wells pene
trated light gray gravely sand with conglomerate lenses
and interlayers of browngray shale and siltstone. The
section is characterized by rhythmic intercalation of
thick psammitic and thin pelitic beds. The thickness of
the group in both wells is 500600 m (incomplete in
the second well).
The rock salt and anhydrite of the Kareem Forma
tion (10001500 m) occur in the upper part of the sec
tion. In some places of the Sudanese rift segment, the
Maghersum Group is composed of carbonate rocks
only (Marafit Well) or is absent from the section
(Maghersum1 Well).
The Belaim Formation (middle Miocene) consists
of lagoonal and marine coarse to mediumgrained

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010

276
Marafit1 Durwara2 Bashaier1A
Middleupper Miocene
Clastic wedge
Lowermiddle Miocene
Clastic wedge
Prerift complex
Continental crust
Fig. 4. Geological section across the Sudanese segment of the Main Trough from the data of drilling and seismic stratigraphy, after
AGIP (1987).
sands, chemogenic and organogenic limestones, rock
salt, and anhydrite and is crowned in most sections by
coral limestone. In some places, for example, in the
Maghersum1 Well, evaporites disappear from the sec
tion. The formation, about 700 m thick, is transitional
between the evaporite and preevaporite Miocene.
The Dungunab Formation (middleupper
Miocene) is the major saline phase, that is, the thick
evaporite sequence with prevalence of rock salt and
anhydrite and subordinate gypsum, shale, and sand
stone, which contain both freshwater and marine
fauna. The thickness of this sequence in the Dungunab
Well is 1700 m.
The Zeit Formation (upper Miocene) is composed
largely of continental evaporites and fluvial clastic
sediments and subordinate marine sediments
(Suakin1 Well). The thickness of this formation is
300400 m.
In the wells drilled at the Eritrean coast, the mainly
marine Miocene sections consist of the following
stratigraphic units (Fig. 1) (from bottom to top in a
well near the town of Massawa): the Dogham Forma
tion of basalt, tuff, and sandstone and the Habab For
mation of sandstone, clay, and evaporites (lowermid
dle Miocene, 3500 m); the Desset Formation (upper
Miocene), where the lower 1000 m are composed of
clayey sandstone with interbeds of redbrown clay,
gypsum, and anhydrite and the upper 500 m of
mediumgrained polymictic sandstone.
At a distance from shoreline, the B1 Well pene
trated the following Miocene section (from bottom to
top): the Habab Formation (lowermiddle Miocene)
consisting of marine shallowwater clay, sandstone,
and marlstone with anhydrite and rock salt interlayers
(incomplete thickness is 1100 m); the upper Miocene
Amber Formation of rock salt (270 m); and the Desset
Formation of sandstone and clay (1100 m), which
overlie with poorly expressed unconformity the older
dALMEIDA
Suakin1 S. Suakin1
Central part of the
PliocenePleistocene Red Sea Trench
Clastic wedge
Oceanic crust
Dungunab Formation, rock salt
(effects of salt tectonics are omitted)
Miocene sediments and are conformably overlapped
by Pliocene sediments [1, 2].
At the Arabian flank of the intercontinental rift, the
most complete Miocene section was penetrated by the
Mansiyah1 Well located in the coastal zone between
17 and 17 30 N to the north of the town of Jizan. As
follows from the correlation with the Sudanese
Miocene section, the section in this well consists of the
lowermiddle Miocene infraevaporite group of clayey
sandstone; gray shale (39313700 m); shale with con
glomerate, salt layers, and finegrained sandstone
(37003472 m); the middleupper Miocene evapor
ite group of clay with anhydrite interbeds (34722230 m);
and the upper Miocene (lower continental sequence)
of the Zeit Formation: red shale, sandstone, and con
glomeratre (22301000 m). Pliocene sediments occur
upsection.
The Miocene sections in the north part of the east
ern marginal zone of the Red Sea Rift are similar in
structure but less thick.
Moving away from the marginal zones of the Main
Trough, the Miocene section becomes more uniform.
For example, in the Amber1 Well drilled in the inner
part of the Eritrean shelf, the PlioceneQuaternary
carbonate sediments overlie the Miocene evaporite
sequence (rock salt with sporadic clay interbeds)
reaching 3600 m in thickness.
In the B1 Well, drilled closer to the Axial Trough,
the thickness of the Miocene evaporite section is
reduced to 2500 m and many basaltic sills and lava
flows appear therein [1]. Approaching the Axial
Trough from the eastern margin of the Main Trough,
the structure of the Miocene section changes in the
same way. According to the seismic tomography, the
thickness of the Miocene rocks in the most sagged
parts of the Main Trough attains 45005000 m and is
reduced 23 times with increase in the amount of syn
rift basaltic igneous rocks. It is thought that the lower
middle and middleupper Miocene clastic rocks
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010
 STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION HISTORY OF THE RED SEA RIFT 277

Gulf of Suez, Sudan and Saudi Arabia and

Stratigraphic scale
Egypt Eritrea Yemen
System Series Stratigraphic units
Abu Zenima Tairan

Conti.

Baid traps
Oligocene

Matiyah
Continental
Madi, Tanqa

Dogali (volcanic)
Mokkatam, Hamamit

Samalut
Kaboba,
Paleogene

Hiatus

Shumaisi
Eocene Mimia,
Darat (?)
Tebes (Egma)

(Umm Himar, Usfan, Adaffa)

Marine

Medj
Esna Zir
Paleocene

Dukah Formation
Continental and nearshore marine
El
Egma
Maastrichtian
(Sudr, Dakhla) Mukawar Formation
(partly volcanic)

Amba Aradam (?)

Senonian

Sudr Formation
Campanian
(Duwi, Braun)
Kurmah
Santonian Matulla (Quseir) (?)
Nezzazat
Cretaceous

Coniacian Wata
Turonian Abu Qada Kurmah
Cenomanian Raha

Albian
Tawilla
Malha
Nubia A Tawilla
Continental

Aptian
Continental

Malha
Amba Aradam

Barremian (El (?)

Tih)
Hiatus

Hauterivian
(?)
Neocomian

Valanginian

Berriasian

Fig. 5. PreNeogene stratigraphic units in the Red Sea region, simplified after [25].

pinch out toward the Axial Trough, whereas the mid zones, complete the section of the Main Trough of the
dle Miocene evaporite sequence (Dungunab Forma Red Sea Rift. In the Sudanese segment of the western
tion and its analogues) remains unchanged (Fig. 4). marginal zone, these sediments, reaching 400 m in
Pliocene and Quaternary sediments, mainly marine thickness, are known as the Abu Shagara Group that
shallowwater and partly continental in marginal consists of the Pliocene Wardam Formation of psam

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010

278 dALMEIDA
mitic sediments and the Pleistocene Shagara Forma
tion of reef limestones. The Abu Shagara Group over
laps the Miocene evaporites with scouring.
In the wells drilled on the Eritrean shelf of the Red
Sea, the PlioceneQuaternary section 700800 m
thick is composed of chemogenic and reef limestones
pertaining to the Dunishib Formation overlying the
Miocene saliniferous sequence with scouring. Similar
composition and thickness are characteristic of the
coeval sediments in the Arabian portion of the Main
Trough. The integrated section of the Main Trough of
the Red Sea Rift is shown in Fig. 6 on the basis of drill
ing results in the Sudanese segment.
The deepwater Axial Trough of the Red Sea is
underlain by oceantype crust formed over the last 5
3 Ma. The trough is filled with tholeiitic basalts over
lapped by metalliferous sediments, whose thickness in
the Atlantis II Deep attains 800 m [7]. The stepwise
walls of the trough are composed of Upper Miocene
evaporaties and PlioceneQuaternary pelitic and car
bonate sediments.
MAIN FEATURES OF THE EVOLUTION
OF THE RED SEA RIFT
According to the most popular concept, the Creta
ceous and Paleogene sediments in the Red Sea Zone
and the adjacent coastal plains make up a prerift com
plex [12, 13, 25, 31]. The term prerift emphasizes,
however, only the fact that these sediments were
deposited before the onset of evolution of the Ceno
zoic Red Sea Rift, but does not describe the tectonic
nature of the trough where these sediments were accu
mulating. The characteristic attributes of the Creta
ceous trough are as follows.
The occurrence of Upper Cretaceous shallow
water marine sediments in sections of the Red Sea Rift
and the absence of similar sediments beyond its limits
except the Eastern Desert of Egypt [23, 27, 29] furnish
evidence for the existence of a separate marine basin of
that age between Africa and Arabia. The configuration
of this basin was almost the same as that of the younger
Main Trough. This fact allows us to consider the pre
Miocene troughs to be related to the early stage of the
evolution of the Red Sea Rift System (Fig. 6).
The character of preMiocene magmatism leads to
the same conclusion. The volcanic activity in the rift
zone began as early as the Cretaceous. At the western
flank of the rift, in its Sudanese and Eritrean marginal
zones, volcanic rocks are known in the Mukawar and
Dogali formations, respectively [13, 15, 25] (Fig. 5).
At the eastern flank, the Eocene igneous rocks occur
in the Shumaishi and Baid formation of Saudi Arabia
and Yemen [25].
As was mentioned above, the Maghersum1 Well
drilled near the Sudanese coast penetrated cenotypal
tholeiitic lavas and tuffs of presumably Cretaceous
age; the incomplete sequence of these rocks is 200 m
[15]. The Cretaceous dikes cut through Precambrian
rocks on Zabargad Island and the Three Brothers
Islets [31, 37], as well as along the marginal scarps in
Egypt and Sudan [10, 19]. At the same time, the evo
lution of the Cretaceous Red Sea basin was accompa
nied by alkaline magmatism on its western shoulder.
The Late Cretaceous syenite, alkali granite, and gab
bro were emplaced in the Red Sea Mountains of
Sudan and on the Sinai Peninsula [2, 6, 38]. Alkali
basalts erupted in the Late Cretaceous in the Eastern
Desert of Egypt near Wadi Natash. This implies that
the Cretaceous magmatism was characterized by the
same lateral zoning (lowalkaline rocks in the trough
and alkaline rocks in the marginal uplift) as the Ceno
zoic synrift magmatism (tholeiitic basalts in the Red
Sea Rift and alkali basalts in the Precambrian Arabian
Shield).
The paleotectonic attributes and lateral magmatic
zoning are sound arguments for interpreting the Cre
taceous troughs that dissect the ArabianNubian
Shield as rifts formed as a result of the first phase of
tectonic subsidence in this region (Fig. 6). Three cir
cumstances support such interpretation.
(1) In the Derubeb area of the Red Sea Mountains
in Sudan, a system of small meridional grabens are
connected with the Red Sea Rift near the Tokar River
delta. These grabens are filled with Cenozoic basalt,
rhyolite, and dacite along with Cretaceous shallow
water marine and continental rocks. There are
grounds to assume that these grabens are offsets of the
coeval Red Sea Rift.
(2) In the system of small grabens to the north of
Medina, the largest HamdJizil Basin (~200 km long
and 20 km wide) extends parallel to the Red Sea Rift.
This basin consists of two halfgrabens filled with syn
rift cherty and clastic rocks flooded by Cenozoic rift
related basalts [36], which are displaced by younger
normal faults. The age of these basalts and the under
lying rocks remains unknown.
(3) The Cretaceous trough of the Red Sea Zone
extends in the same directions as the rifts of southern
Sudan and the Bihendula Rift in northwestern Soma
lia, which originated in the Jurassic but underwent the
most intense subsidence just in the Late Cretaceous [8].
All these data allow us to suggest that the preCen
ozoic troughs in the central ArabianNubian Shield,
together with the basins of southern Sudan and north
western Somalia make up an integrated rift system.
Assuming the rift nature of Cretaceous and Paleo
gene sections in the Red Sea Zone, we inevitably arrive
at the conclusion of inheritance of older cognate
structural elements by the younger Main Trough.
In the western, African marginal zone of the Red
Sea Rift, the Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Miocene
sequences make up continuous sections. At the east
ern, Arabian flank, the Cretaceous and Paleogene
rocks fill isolated grabens [11, 17, 25, 36] and are over
lapped by Miocene with sharp angular unconformity
[32]. It is assumed that these rocks do not spread from
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010
 STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION HISTORY OF THE RED SEA RIFT 279

Phase Stratigraphic Lithostratigraphic Lithology Rock

scale unit

Abu Shagara
Pleistocene ShagaraFormation
Postsaline Reef limestone,

Group
Upper
Pliocene Wardam sand, and clay
Lower Formation (up to 400 m)
Pliocene

Upper Zeit Fmt. Rock salt, anhydrite,

middle Dungunab gypsum, and sandstone
Miocene Formation (up to 350 m)
Saline
Late rifting (Cenozoic)

Formation
Reef limestone,

Belaim
Middle evaporites, clay, and
clayey sandstone
Miocene
(to 700 m)

Marlstone, sandstone,
Kareem
Fmt.

stone, shale, sand, and

Maghersum

evaporites
(up to 1000 m)
Group

Lower
Miocene
Rudeis
Fmt.
Presaline

Oligocene
Red sandstone,
conglomerate, claystone,
Hamamit Formation
and basaltic tuff
(up to 1400 m)

Paleocene
(Cretaceous)
Early rifting

(?)
Mukawar Formation (?)

Upper
Red and gray sandstones with
Cretaceous
Mukawar Formation interbeds of silty clay, and
(Senonian) marlstone
(up to 300 m)
(?)
Upper Red and gray
Lower Malha Formation sandstones
Cretaceous (up to 300 m)

Fig. 6. Integrated lithostratigraphic section of the Main Trough of the Red Sea Rift from results of exploration drilling in the
Sudanese segment, after [15].

the marginal zone toward the Red Sea into the inner First, there are forcible arguments to suggest that
zone of the Main Trough [32]. There is evidence that the extension and subsidence of the continental crust,
the Oligocene sediments in the Dailan area in the at least in the marginal zones of the recent interconti
north of the Arabian flank of the rift were derived from nental rift, started earlier than it is commonly
the inner part of the presentday Red Sea [34]. assumed, in the Late Cretaceous, and continued in the
In general, the attributes of the Cretaceous and Paleogene and then in the Miocene. Second, it cannot
Paleogene sections lead to the following conclusions. be ruled out that marginal rift zones developed in the

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010

280 dALMEIDA

I Cretaceous and Paleogene as independent basins.

Sudan EarlyLate Cretaceous Arabia Most likely they were halfgrabens separated by
uplifted basement blocks that underwent denudation
(Fig. 7, I, II). Thus, a complex intercontinental rift
system consisting of several troughs and separating
uplifts existed in the Red Sea region in the Cretaceous
II and Paleogene. It cannot be ruled out that the origin of
Late CretaceousPaleocene this intercontinental rift was related to the formation
of earlier rifts in southern Sudan, northern Kenya, and
northwestern Somalia (Bihendula Rift) that extended
in the same direction controlled by the tectonic
stresses which existed during separation of Africa and
India and the opening of the Indian Ocean. Keeping
III
EoceneOligocene
this in mind, it may be stated that the region of the
future Red Sea Rift underwent tectonic instability
beginning from the Jurassic. In the Paleogene, the
flanks of the Main Trough were involved in intense
sagging, whereas its inner region was uplifted and
affected by erosion (Fig. 7, II, III). Since the Creta
ceous, the African flank has been involved in more sta
IV ble sagging. The Arabian flank started to subside
Oligoceneearly Miocene
intensely only in the Paleogene (Fig. 5) and was char
acterized by higher tectonic mobility, which gave rise
to the formation of a preMiocene system of horsts
and grabens [11], whereas at the western flank the
Miocene subsidence began without any structural
rearrangement. The occurrence of Eocene and Oli
V
Middlelate Miocene gocene basalts in the eastern marginal zone also indi
cates the increasing activity of deeprooted faults that
bounded the Paleogene rift basin in the east.
The western and eastern flanks of the Main Trough
of the Red Sea Rift that developed nonuniformly in
the Paleogene and partly in the Cretaceous and
Miocene are structural elements of the African and
VI Arabian rift zones underlain by different basement
PlioceneQuaternary
blocks, which are mafic and relatively dense in the
west and generally sialic and thus lowdensity in the
east [28].
As is known, the uplifting of the Earths crust,
withinplate magmatism, and rifting are currently
referred to plumes and superplumes [4, 5, 9]. Seismic
tomography and highresolution satellite images of
the Red Sea Zone demonstrate active and extensive
mantle flow beneath the lithosphere of this region.
1 2 3 4 5 6 The effect of this superplume on lithospheric inhomo
b
geneities is a cause of the dynamic processes that pro
7 8 9 10 11 12 ceeded in northeastern Africa [17]. The mechanism of
this interaction, however, should be specified [5]. The
conjugation of the marginal African zone of stable
subsidence with the zone of highdensity basement is
Fig. 7. Geological evolution of the Red Sea Rift: a conceptual of special interest.
scheme. (IVI) stages: (I) terminal Cretaceous, (II) terminal In general, the geological evolution of the Red Sea
Paleogene, (III) terminal Oligocene, (IV) terminal middle
Miocene, (V) terminal Miocene, (VI) present time. (1) region may be described as follows. Its subsidence
water; (2) coral limestone; (3, 4) evaporites: (3) carbonate accompanied by shortterm southward ingressions
rocks and evaporites and (4) rock salt; (5) volcanic rocks; from the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa started
(6) basaltic flows and their conduits; (7) basaltic dike in the Cretaceous and probably as early as in the Juras
swarms in the newly formed oceanic crust; (8) sandstone
and quartz sand with clay; (9) tension (a) and shear sic. In the Paleogene, sedimentation in the marginal
(b) fractures; (10) tectonic stress; (11) Precambrian base zones of the Main Trough developed under shallow
ment; (12) Cretaceous rocks. water and partly continental conditions. In the Pale

GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010

 STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION HISTORY OF THE RED SEA RIFT
ocene and Eocene, marine ingressions came from the
shelf basin of northern Africa. In the Oligocene, these
paleogeographic links were interrupted due to the
uplift of the northern and eastern territories. The Red
Sea rift connected with the Aden Gulf Rift, which
started to develop. In the Paleogene, the Main Trough
was distinctly separated by faults from the conjugated
uplifts of the Precambrian basement covered either by
mantles of weathering or a thin sequence of continen
tal sediments.
The Miocene was an epoch of the most intense sag
ging of the Main Trough of the Red Sea Rift (the sec
ond phase of tectonic subsidence). The inner longitu
dinal rise, which was inherited from the earlier stage of
evolution, has become more contrasting, largely
owing to the accelerated sagging of the adjacent sub
basins (Fig. 7, IV, V). Over the Miocene, these basins
subsided by 45 km and the dividing zone by less than
half of this value; both were overlapped by evaporites.
Thus, at that time, the Red Sea Rift was a halfclosed
evaporire basin separated by faults from the relatively
low uplifts of the Precambrian basement. Marine
ingressions came here from the south, i.e., from the
Gulf of Aden, which was rather wide at that time and
connected with the Indian Ocean. The lithologic
diversity of the Miocene sequences in the marginal
zones of the Main Trough, in particular the occur
rence of conglomerates, testifies to repeated rising of
the rifts shoulders and formation of rather high
mountain chains along them. The extended Miocene
dolerite dikes at the Arabian flank of the rift (Fig. 1)
point to magmatic activity of the eastern fault walls
inherited from the Paleogene.
The terminal Miocene was characterized by gen
eral shallowing of the rift basin. Lagoonal and shallow
water marine sedimentation gave way to the continen
tal sediments.
The Pliocene was the time of cardinal rearrange
ment of the tectonic regime in the evolution of the Red
Sea Rift, which completely connected with the oce
anic (intercontinental) Aden Gulf Rift and was
flooded by waters of the marine ingression that came
from the gulf. This setting resulted in the deposition of
marine carbonate rocks, mainly reef limestone, in the
Red Sea Rift.
According to the most popular concept, the
PlioceneQuaternary divergence in the central longi
tudinal zone led to the rupture of the continental crust
with the formation of a narrow trough underlain by
young oceanic crust, which is clearly expressed in the
bottom topography of the Red Sea and attracts interest
as a zone of presentday geothermal activity and
hydrothermal ore deposition. The abundant basaltic
lavas and sills in the Miocene section of the central
zone show that the Axial Trough started to evolve in
another tectonic setting and its geological history is
actually more complex than was suggested before. In
contrast to the marginal carbonate (socalled shelf)
zones of the Main Trough, the axial zone was a trough
GEOTECTONICS Vol. 44 No. 3 2010
281
that was filled largely by clay sediments (Fig. 7, VI).
This trough marked the divergence of Africa and Ara
bia and the transition of the Red Sea Rift from the cat
egory of intracontonental structural elements to the
category of intercontinental structures.
CONCLUSIONS
According to the current knowledge, the Cenozoic
Red Sea Rift consists of two structural elements as if
enclosed into each other: the wide Main Trough that
started to evolve as early as in the Paleogene [3, 6, 38]
and the narrow Axial Trough superimposed upon the
inner zone of the Main Trough in the MioceneQua
ternary as a result of drift.
Consideration of the available geological and geo
physical data and their integration have allowed me to
draw the following conclusions.
(1) The extension and subsidence of the continen
tal crust of the ArabianNubian Shield most probably
began in the Cretaceous. The history of the evolution
of the Red Sea Rift can be divided into two active
phases of tectonic subsidence, which correspond to
the rift cycles. The first phase (Late Cretaceous
Eocene) is separated from the second phase (Oli
goceneQuaternary) by a period of uplift and denuda
tion.
(2) To provide insights into the long and complex
history of the Red Sea Rift and regional evolution as a
whole, it is necessary to continue drilling of deep
exploration wells both along the Axial Trough and in
deep segments of the Main Trough in order to study
Cretaceous and Paleogene facies, the chemistry of vol
canic rocks, and their timing.
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