Qarat Weddah Gr

Period:

Neogene

Age Interval:

Piacenzian-Gelasian

Province:
Cyrenaica Basin

Type Locality and Naming

According to Shaltami et al. (2020), this group consists of a lower Qarat Al Asi Fm separated by a hiatus (ca. lower 25% of Gelasian) from the overlying Wadi Al Maqar Fm. [Neither of those formations were indicated on stratigraphic charts in other publications consulted during preparation of this lexicon.]

Synonym: Qarat Weddah Fm

References: Shaltami, O.R., et al. (2020), and Google Gemina (Aug’26)

Lithology and Thickness

Shallow-marine to continental clastics composed of poorly consolidated sands, calcareous sandstones, and thin clay beds.

Lithology Pattern:

Sandstone

Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Unconformable onto the Uyun Ghuzayil Fm of the Al Hishah Gr according to Shaltami et al. (2020).

Upper contact

Unconformably overlain by the Tansulukh Fm according to Shaltami et al. (2020).

Regional extent

GeoJSON

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Fossils

Age

Piacenzian-Gelasian (late Pliocene-earliest Pleistocene) according to Shaltami et al. (2020). [For graphic purposes, the extent of the upper and lower unconformities, which are equivalent to nearly the same time span of the known preserved deposits, have been omitted here.]

Age Span:

Beginning stage:

Piacenzian

Fraction up in beginning stage:

0.0

Beginning date (Ma):

3.60

Ending stage:

Gelasian

Fraction up in the ending stage:

1.0

Ending date (Ma):

1.80

Depositional setting

Depositional pattern:

Additional Information

Compiler:

Shaltami, O.R., et al. (2020). Petroleum system of the Cyrenaica Basin – A review. In: 1^st International Symposium on Geosciences (ISG2020), 21th March 2020, Proceeding Book: published by BR Petrobras. P. 64-71.

Tawadros, E.E. (2011). Geology of North Africa. CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group), 931 pp.

Google Gemini (Aug 2026) – assembled synthesis of Cyrenaica Basin units from various web-accessible publications.

El Oshebi, F.M., Fares, F.F. (2026). Stratigraphy, facies, and depositional environments of the Eocene sequence in the Ras Al Hilal area, Cyrenaica, Libya. Arabian Jour. Geosciences, 19:79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-026-12488-2.

El-Hawat, A.S., Abdulsamad, E.O. (2004) Geology and Archeology of Cyrenaica, Northeastern Libya. Field trip guide B01, 32^nd International Geological Congress. 36 pp.