KARST IN RAS AL-KHAIMAH, NORTHERN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Abstract

This paper presents  karstological prospecting of selected areas in Ras Al-Khaimah Emirate, UAE.  Several   locations in Musandam Mts. have been prospected for caves, karst springs and surface karst features. Several smaller (10-20 m long) solutional caves have been discovered and surveyed on the slopes of wadis. They exhibit relatively simple assemblage of dominantly dead-end passages. Geometry, rock relief, geology  and sediments of these caves were studied and initial hypothesis on their formation suggested. The largest discovered cave is a tectonic feature developed due to the gravitational sliding of part of a mountain. Surface rock relief resulted from different karst processes was also studied in river beds and side walls of wadis and on the mountain plateaus. Two hydrogeologically different karst springs, Khatt and MeBreda, were analysed for basic physical, chemical and microbiological parameters.