OMAN GEOLOGICAL TOUR TRIP

Day One:

Our first stop in first day is one of Oman’s greatest geosites. We travel to  wadi  al abyad where we can see the world’s best outcrop of the moho. It is the discontinuity and the boundary between the earth’s crust and mantle . We will spend most of day time in wadi al abyad to see not only moho but layer gabbro ,wherlite outcrop and calcite precipitation which give the wadi name as wadi al abyad. Then move to wadi bani kharous where we view the impressive angular unconformity between late Precambrian and early Permian sedimentary rock. Then moving to wadi haslan and here we going to observe “Snowball Earth deposits. These are glacial deposits that were lain down 711.8 million years ago.

Day Two:

Second day is all about seeing the rock of the mid-ocean spreading that have now been obducted on the surface as part of the semail ophiolite. We start the day by visiting amazing mining for marbel, then moving to see fossilised black smoker that was once on the sea floor at mid – oceanic ridge plate boundary at the same place we view remains of copper mineralisation and interesting umber sediments which are rich in metals. The next stop we see clear sheeted dyke complex as hexagonal cooling structures with some of obsidian rock.  Next, we going to visit one of oman’s most famous geosites the incredible “geotimes” pillow basalt at wadi al jizzi. These are considered the best pillow basalt outcrops in the world. This basalt are erupted out on to the seabed and formed pillow structure as they were cooled by the seawater. After that, we visit a wonderful copper mine that had been mined for most of the last 4000 years. We finish the day with visit Shaba Hot spring. 

Day three:

Third day is all about seeing rocks of the mid-ocean spreading ridge that have now been obducted on the surface as part of the Semail Ophiolite sequence. We started the day by visiting lava tube and pillow lava as the first part of ophiolite sequence that quickly formed and cooled. Our next stop we have good chance to see perfect hexagonal cooling structure. Then we complete the sequence of Ophiolite to see sheet dyks , then move to stop with the view of Moho to see exactly the boundary between earth crust and mantel. At the end of day, we can stop to see Tertiary rock and Exotic of Oman and we can see quarry of Marble.

Day Four:

The first stop in fourth day is the view of Al Ayn UNESCO world heritage site. Here there are 21 bronze age tombs set in impressive scenery. From here, we move a short distance down the road to take in views of the jabal Misht viewpoint a mountain made up of limestone and dolomite. From there we move to another short distance to stop at a chevron fold at al hayl.Then will stop at an archaeological site called “coleman’s rock which consist of Neolithic rock carvings” our final stop on the day is the town of Bahla where we can swim in falaj dares and if we have enough time we can go direct to see Bahla fort.   

DAY Five:

Fifth day : First stop of the day is ALHoota cave. This 2 million year old cave is the first and only show cave in the Arabian Peninsula. It has rich ecosystem that includes four lakes and we spend most of the morning on an underground tour. We then drive to see amazing place for chromite mining in Oman. In addition, we visit sinew souq and the view of Camel Mountain. Then in the way to the sand dunes, we have to stop and see mine of manganese juts to see how Oman is rich in different mining and it is really, as they call it “a paradise of geology”. Manganese mine is metallic minerals that has been developed on ultramafic /mafic rocks. At the end of day, will moving to sand dune we try to reach it early to see the sun set and play with the duns. We will spend the night in desert and will seeing an amazing night sky with explanation of constellation and the sky map.  

Day Six:

From sand dunes will drive to the old port to the town of sur in the coast. Here we stop to view the mangrove forests then our next stop to see beautiful bio erosion and the sea level of water since long time. Then in the way we can stop to collect a great fossils which is more than 300 My in age again will complete driving to see the amethyst vein in carbonate rocks its really amazing with fabulous colour. We drive to famous geosite called the “Mother of all outcrops” here where we can see beautiful folds in radiolarian cherts. We spend quite a long time here. There are many beautiful structures in the same area we can walk around. Then drive to Ras al Hadd is also famous for its turtle beaches.

Day Seven:

Day Seven: is our last touring day and we head back to Muscat along the coast but there is much to see along our way. Our first stop is the site of a fossil coral reef. This is followed by the famous wadi shab considered by many to be most beautiful wadi in Oman. Here there are pools that we can swim in. the next stop is the site where huge boulders carried by tsunamis have be hurled up onto the shore. We then proceed to the Bimmah sinkhole formed from a collapsed cave. Our final stop in the wadi al mayh mega sheath fold. This fold is one of the largest and best exposed in the world. Here we will be lucky to study and see the moon surface, which call as metamorphic rock as slate and schist. We then move and drive to the capital city.