Syrian Arc
The Syrian Arc is a series of fold structures that extend from Syria, through Lebanon and Israel/Palestine into northern Sinai and on into Egypt's Eastern and Western deserts. The folds started forming during the Late Cretaceous epoch as a result of the closure of the Neotethys Ocean that caused shortening of the continental margin with reactivation of the extensional faults formed during the Jurassic period.
Extent
The furthest west that folds have been attributed to the Syrian Arc deformation phase is in the northern Western Desert near Matruh. The area of folding continues to the east forming a broad zone about 200 km wide passing into the Eastern Desert, including major structures such as Kattaniya and the breached anticline at Wadi Araba, near the Dead Sea on the western side of the Gulf of Suez. In Sinai, a series of other breached anticlinal structures are developed, such as those at Halal, Maghara and Yelleg.Geometry
The Syrian Arc has an overall S-shape, with structures trending WSW–ENE in Egypt and Syria and SSW–NNE trending in the intervening section.The Palmyra fold belt
In Syria the main Syrian Arc structure is the WSW–ENE trending Palmyra fold belt. It extends eastward from the Dead Sea Transform, dying out near the Euphrates Graben. The left lateral offset of the Palmyrides against the other part of the Syrian Arc across the Dead Sea Transform has been estimated as a maximum of about 107 km.Origin
Two main phases of tectonics were responsible for the formation of the Syrian Arc structures. The first, dominated by extensional tectonics, was associated with the development of a passive margin in northern Africa as the Neotethys Ocean was formed. The second, dominated by contractional tectonics,was associated with the closure of that ocean. Some of the structures were further modified in the Cenozoic during the formation of the Dead Sea Transform and the continued northward movement of the Arabian Plate.