Geology of the Sabkha Mati South 1:100 000 map sheet, 100-34, United Arab Emirates

This Sheet Description describes the Quaternary and solid geology of the Sabkha Mati South 1:100 000 scale geological map of the UAE. About 150 observation points were made throughout the district. The Sabkha Mati South district covers 1060 km2 of the country south of latitude 23° 30’, extending to the UAE-Saudi Arabia border. The Miocene bedrock underlying the district belongs to the uppermost Shuwaihat and Baynunah formations, but exposures are sparse, mainly restricted to deflation hollows, man-made workings and a few mesa tops. Most of the district is underlain by Quaternary sediments, comprising fragmentary inliers of Madinet Zayed and Ghayathi formations (Pleistocene), surrounded by widespread modern deposits of aeolian sand (Rub al Khali Formation) in the form of sand sheets and small fields of barchan dunes. Extensive thin sand veneers cover the bedrocks in the northern parts of the district and a few inland sabkhas are seen. The area has no economic mineral deposits at the surface.