ISRAEL & VOLCANOS

 

Northern Israel has developed minor volcanic fields around the Hula Valley and Southern Lebanon. This is part of a vast volcanic field that developed in the northwestern part of the Arabian plate, subparallel to the Red Sea. The northeast of Israel contains an active volcanic field. This extends to Jordan and Syria to the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights is near the Dead Sea Rift Valley, which is a transform fault on the Red Sea. The Golan Heights is a Plio-Pleistocene basaltic plateau, which is the largest volcanic field in the western Arabian Peninsula. About fifty cinder cones are located northeast of the Golan volcanic field, mostly arranged in two rows. Mt. Avital and Birket Ram contain Phreatomagmatic deposits.

Mount Avital is the combination of two cinder cones and One explosion crater. One of the largest volcanic eruptions was 129,000 years ago causing a phreatic eruption. This created a crater (850 meters wide and 1,150 meters long) called Ram Lake. Due to the crater, small eruptions occurred, such as the eruption 50,000 years ago at Mount Bental. This caused a small lava flow to the west. As of 2021, the volcanic field is inactive, lasting for another several thousand years. This can only be broken by the eruption of a new cinder cone creating a slow-moving lava flow.

According to Science Direct, the volcanic sequence in the Golan Heights and its surroundings overlies the Lower Pliocene. The group is subdivided into 5 rock units that differ in their morphologic attributes as well as, in their radiogenic ages, based on 175 K-Ar age determination from samples (54 selected sites):

1. Lower Pliocene basalts (5.0-3.Ma.)

2. Upper Pliocene basalts (2.9-1.7 Ma)

3. Lower Pleistocene basalts (1.6-0.7 Ma).

4. Upper Pleistocene basalts (0.4-0.1 Ma.)

5. Holocene basalts (no data yet).

The lower Pliocene basalts create a large volcanic plateau from southern Syria to Lower Galilee. The Dead Sea Rift in northern Israel began to subside at the end or after this phase, and the Upper Pliocene basalts flowed into it from Lebanon to the Hula Valley. Pleistocene volcanic sources were recognized only on the eastern side of the Rift. 

 

A geological map of the complex of Mt. Avital. The T symbols show the dips measured in tuff layers. 

The western lobe of the central depression (Avital Valley), the western summit of the southern cone, and the western rim. A view from the north. Also shown are the in-structure edge of the northernmost Avital Basalts and their flow direction. 

Some precautions to consider in case of an eruption: listening for emergency information, following evacuation or shelter orders, preparing necessary supplies, reducing ash exposure, staying inside until it is safe, avoiding river valleys downstream of the volcano, and not driving in heavy ash. I would suggest to anyone with breathing problems to avoid ash because it can worsen symptoms. For more information visit CDC.Gov .

References:

ResearchGate

CDC

ScienceDirect

https://youtu.be/ZIWuF6QYF_o

Volcano