Volcanoes

Archaeologists have recently discovered what could be the 'Gates of Hell' which are thousands of years old in a bleak, inhospitable lava fields with scant water or vegetation, places seemingly among the most unwelcoming to our species part of Saudi Arabia.

Stunned researchers have discovered more than 400 previously undocumented stone structures or “Gates” as they are called, which have been uncovered using Google Earth. To this day much of the conclusions are still speculation at best.

Above are unusually aligned volcanoes in the same place!

Some of the giant rock formations stretch across volcano mountainsides, while others cover the flat ground between peaks.

The longest of them are more than 500 meters long and are so old they have been covered by lava - suggesting they are older than ancient volcanic eruptions.

Saudi Arabia has active volcanoes in the west and northwest of the country. Volcanic activity is related to hot spot activity on the Arabian Plate which was uplifted on the eastern side of the Red Sea rift.

The basaltic lava fields in the western part of the country are called Harrats. They cover about 180,000 sq. km and extend from Turkey to Yemen in the south.

The young volcanic fields of western Arabia (Harrats) form a distinct 600 km long N-S chain (Makkah-Madinah-Nafud volcanic line) and the vents are aligned N-S, different from the NNW-SSE direction of the Red Sea Rift.

Between Makkah and Madinah is the 20,000 sq. km Harrat Rahat lava field with 644 scoria cones, 36 shield volcanoes and 24 domes, it covers approximately 12,000 sq. km. The most recent eruption occurred between 600 and 700 CE. Between Madinah and the Great Nafud are the coalesced Harrats Khaybar, Ithnayn and Kura with an area of 20,560 sq. km and 327 scoria cones, 46 basaltic shield volcanoes, 20 domes, 5 tuff cones, one basaltic stratovolcano (Jebel Qidr) and 39 massive and very long "whale-back" lava flow. These the biggest and longest basalt flows in western Saudi Arabia and contain the biggest and most extensive lava-tubes.

Geologists have found that a renewed volcanic threat since 2010 caused a region in Saudi Arabia to experience thousands of earthquakes in past years. Geologists also measured a rise in underground temperatures and an increase in radon gas emissions associated with volcanic activity.

The western regions of Saudi Arabia may be at risk from an unusual type of earthquake caused by failed volcanic eruptions, according to a team of Saudi and US scientists.

However, Hani Zahran, director of the National Center for Earthquakes and Volcanoes at the Saudi Geological Survey, in Jeddah, has been quoted saying “the Saudi authorities have developed precautionary measures to cope with future earthquakes. The Geological Survey has established a seismic monitoring system," he said, "and we are collecting all available data to have a better understanding of the nature of this activity and try to find out its future behavior."

Lieutenant general Sa'ad Al Twigry of the Saudi Civil Defense has also been quoted saying “the organisation has an emergency plan to evacuate this region that could be applied whenever the earthquakes are back".

Something to think about!