The geology and geochronology of Al Wahbah maar crater, Harrat Kishb, Saudi Arabia

Al Wahbah is a large (∼2.2 km diameter, ∼250 m deep) maar crater in the Harrat Kishb volcanic field in western Saudi Arabia. It cuts Proterozoic basement rocks and two Quaternary basanite lava flows, and is rimmed with an eroded tuff ring of debris from the phreatomagmatic explosion that generated the crater. A scoria cone on the northern wall of the crater was dissected by the explosion and exposes a dolerite plug that was intruded immediately prior to crater formation. The dolerite plug yields a 40Ar/39Ar age of 1.147 ± 0.004 Ma. This is the best possible estimate of the time Al Wahbah crater formed. It is a few tens of thousand years younger than the age of the lower and upper basalt flows, 1.261 ± 0.021 Ma and 1.178 ± 0.007 Ma respectively. A dolerite dyke exposed within the basement in the wall of the crater is dated at 1.886 ± 0.008 Ma. This is the most precise age so far determined for the initiation of basaltic volcanism of Harrat Kishb, and confirms that it is significantly younger than the other post-rift volcanic provinces in the region. This study provides constrains the timing of humid climatic conditions in the region and suggests that the Quaternary basaltic volcanism that stretches the length of the western side of the Arabian peninsula may prove to be useful for establishing palaeoclimatic conditions.

► We have mapped studied the geology of Al Wahbah maar crater in Saudi Arabia.
► We identify a volcanic plug that was intruded simultaneously with the phreatomagmatic explosion that formed the crater.
► We date the intrusion, and therefore time of crater formation, at 1.14 million years ago.
► We date several other volcanic rocks that provide precise constraints on the regional volcanic activity.