Nubian Sandstone

The Nubian Sandstone is a variety of sedimentary rock deposited on the Precambrian basement in the eastern Sahara, north-east Africa and Arabian Peninsula.

Positioning of the paleoequator and paleolatitude at 20° S was derived from paleomagnetic data showing the Nubian was originally deposited in the paleoequatorial to subequatorial zone.

Maximum development occurs in the Ain Dalla basin, a downthrown structural block south-west of the Bahariya oasis.

The main western system, extending into Libya and Sudan, consists of a multi-layered artesian basin where massive groundwater reserves accumulated, principally during pluvials of the Quaternary.

In central areas, braided channels are spatially aligned to a north-east structural trend, suggesting preferential water flow paths.

Alluvial fans and structurally enclosed channels with gentle slopes and optimal recharge conditions between 1 and 5%, indicating high groundwater potential.

[4] Nubian Sandstone exposures in sub-humid, semi-arid, and arid conditions produce soil that is red and sandy but very different in other aspects.

Only in sub-humid zones do these soils contain a moderately developed profile, including a textural B horizon lacking soluble salts and carbonates.

While age calculation for the Nubian Sandstone is relatively simple in Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon and Hermon, it is much more complicated in Western Sinai and the Dead Sea area.