Stratigraphy and Geographic Distribution of the Gaza Formation of the Kurkar Group, Gaza Strip, Palestine

Abstract: This paper presents the citation and description of the outcropping Late Pleistocene Gaza Formation (alternating beds of Kurkar and Hamra) in the Gaza Strip of Palestine. The term Gaza Formation was originally applied to the 'kurkar' dune ridges and red 'hamra' paleosols in the eastern Mediterranean coastal plain, which represents the eolianites continental deposits of the upper Kurkar Group. this formation was early recognized only in boreholes in the Gaza area, which is never exposed in its entirety. Due to the problem of access of the type section of the Gaza Formation, the author designated an outcropping reference section, located at south Sheikh Ejlin (south of Gaza City), which is well known and easily accessible to the geologists and others in the area.

key words: Stratigraphy, Gaza Formation, Kurkar Group, Gaza Strip, Palestine.