ABSTRACT

The Jal-Az-Zor escarpment, some 80 km long and up to 145 m high, is a striking feature northwest of Kuwait Bay. Several alluvial fans are developed at the foot of the escarpment, and they terminate in playa and sabkha sediments towards Kadhmah Bay. The Quaternary sediments of the alluvial fans are divided into three facies: proximal, midfan, and distal fan facies, and they vary from conglomerates to sandstones to mudrocks. The Jal-Az-Zor alluvial fan sediments coarsen up in the proximal part, but fine upward in the distal region. Poorly sorted but highly imbricated conglomerates and pebbly sandstones with little stratification characterize the proximal region. Sediments of the midfan area show crossbedding and parallel lamination. Distal fan sediments are typically planar-laminated sa ds interbedded with lacustrine mud of playa origin. The alluvial fans have resulted from stream flooding and are composed of stacked depositional units.