DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS, TEXTURAL AND MINERALOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EXPOSED QUATERNARY SEDIMENTS, GIZA, EGYPT

Abstract

Quaternary sediments are extensively exposed in Kafr El Gebel area, south of Sphinx, Giza, Egypt. Ten stratigraphic sections have been chosen for studying and sampling. Fifty one samples were collected to investigate sedimentological and mineralogical characteristics of the Quaternary sediments. The statistical grain size parameters revealed that the investigated sands are mainly medium to coarse, very well sorted to poorly sorted, mostly near symmetrical skeweed accompanied by mesokurtic to leptokurtic characters. The textural characteristics strongly suggest that fluvial conditions of braided river were most probably the dominating factors controlling the transportation and accumulation of the investigated sediments. The light minerals of the investigated sand are composed mainly of quartz with minor amount of feldspars. The non-opaque heavy mineral assemblages of the Quaternary sediments are characterized by the predominance of pyroxene, amphiboles, epidote, zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, staurolite and kyanite. Andalusite, titanite and monazite are recorded in a few samples. The low values of ZTR index suggesting mineralogically immature nature of these sediments. The heavy minerals assemblage of these sediments assemblage indicates a variety of probable source rock types including metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary.