General

The Geology of Egypt

The three layers

A layer of limestone covers most of the surface of modern Egypt.

Beneath this lies a bed of sandstone and this earlier sandstone is the surface rock in Nubia and southern Upper Egypt, as far north as the area between Edfu and Luxor.

The oldest ground of modern Egypt comprises outcrops of metamorphic and igneous rocks.

The Suez  is locate in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sukhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities. Together they form a metropolitan area. Railway lines and highways connect the city with Cairo, Port Said, and Ismailia. Suez has a petrochemical plant, and its oil refineries have pipelines carrying the finished product to Cairo.

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The classification of rocks

Rocks are classified into three main groups, according to the conditions of their formation:

igneous (also called eruptive or magmatic rocks: the solidifed form of magma, the molten material beneath the surface or 'crust' of planet earth)

sedimentary rocks (products of decomposition deposited by water, ice or wind)

metamorphic rocks (result of transfromation of sedimentary or igneous rocks under high pressures and high temperatres)

The first two of these general groups can be subdivided further:

Group 1. igneous rocks are divided according to their position at formation:

plutonic (or intrusive) rocks - the magma solidified below the surface of the earth

volcanic (or extrusive) rocks - the magma poured out at a volcanic eruption, and solidified above ground

veinstones - the magma penetrated cracks in adjacent rocks, and solidified there

Group 2. sedimentary rocks are divided according to the material out of which they were formed:

clastic sediments - loose weathered particles such as gravel (broken stone) and sand: in conglomerate rocks, these loose particles are bound by clay, lime or quartz

chemical sediments - from materials dissolved in water

organic sediments - from accumulations of dead animals or plants