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Il-Blata tal-Melħ[edit]

Il-Blata tal-Melh

Il-Blata tal-Melħ is located in the north-western region of the island of Malta, close to Rabat and Mġarr.[1][2] The name Il-Blata tal-Melħ can be translated as the Salt Rock, named after a series of salt deposits in the limestone at this location.[1][3]

Geological Setting[edit]

Malta is part of the Maltese archipelago, which consists of the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino and several smaller islands. It is located south of Sicily in the centre of the Mediterranean.[2][4]

The rocks exposed in the Maltese islands cover the period from the late Oligocene to the early Messinian[4]. During the Late Oligocene and Miocene, the region was part of the Malta Hyblean Platform, which forms the northernmost extension of the African continental margin. African continental margin. Together with the south-eastern part of Sicily, they form the Hyblean Plateau, which is a carbonate platform.[5][6][7][8][9][10] Tectonic activity within the Mediterranean area has played an important role in forming the shape of the archipelago.[4] The most important part in shaping the Mediterranean is the N-S convergence between the African and Eurasian plates, which started in the Late Mesozoic. For the Maltese Islands, there are two major faults that form the islands. The Victoria Line Fault, an ENE-WSW that crosses the northern part of Malta, and the South Gozo Fault, which is located in the southern part of the island of Gozo.[11][12][13] In addition, the African and Arabian plates continued to move northwards throughout the Cenozoic, resulting in the fragmentation of the Tethys Ocean and the formation of several smaller basins. Together with the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates, which caused the closure of the Tethyan pathway between the Central Atlantic and Indian Ocean, this led to a change in the ocean circulation pattern during the Miocene.[5][14][7]

Stratigraphy[edit]

The Il-Blata section is about 50m high and consists of carbonate rocks. The lowest part of the section marks the transition between shallow-water carbonates of the Lower Coralline Limestone Formation and hemipelagic carbonates of the Lower Globigerina Limestone Formation.[15][7]  The Lower Globigerina Limestone Formation consists of yellowish carbonates and is only about 2 m thick here and is overlain by the Middle Globigerina Formation, which is the most dominant formation at the outcrop with a thickness of about 35 m.[5] The formation is greyish and contains several marl beds, chert beds and phosphorite beds.[5][7] There are 3 main phosphorite beds and several minor phosphate-bearing beds. These include phosphate nodules and phosphate fossils.[5][7] The main phosphate beds are between the Lower Coralline Limestone Formation and the Lower Globigerina Limestone Formation, between the Lower Globigerina Limestone Formation and the Middle Globigerina Limestone Formation, and between the Middle Globigerina Limestone Formation and the Upper Globigerina Limestone Formation. The Upper Globigerina Limestone consists of yellowish carbonates and covers the uppermost 5 m of the section.[5][7]

Fossils[edit]

Many fossils can also be found in the exposed rocks. The coralline limestones consist mainly of coralline algae and the globigerina limestones mainly of planctonic foraminifera, but the phosphorite beds show a greater diversity. Fossils such as corals, bivalves, snails, bryozoans and fish teeth can be found in the phosphorite beds.[5][15][7]

Tourism[edit]

This is an excellent place for experienced hikers. Shaped boulders and the landscape marking the path and rocks help to reach higher levels in this area. The area offers wonderful cliffs and landscape next to the sea.[1][2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Attraction". Visit Malta (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  2. ^ a b c "Blata tal-Melh · Triq is-Sajf ta' San Martin, Ir-Rabat, Malta". Blata tal-Melh · Triq is-Sajf ta' San Martin, Ir-Rabat, Malta. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  3. ^ "Google Übersetzer". translate.google.com. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  4. ^ a b c Baldassini, Niccolò; Di Stefano, Agata (2017-04). "Stratigraphic features of the Maltese Archipelago: a synthesis". Natural Hazards. 86 (S2): 203–231. doi:10.1007/s11069-016-2334-9. ISSN 0921-030X. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Zammit, R.; Lear, C. H.; Samankassou, E.; Lourens, L. J.; Micallef, A.; Pearson, P. N.; Bialik, O. M. (2022-09). "Early Miocene Intensification of the North African Hydrological Cycle: Multi‐Proxy Evidence From the Shelf Carbonates of Malta". Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology. 37 (9). doi:10.1029/2022PA004414. ISSN 2572-4517. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Henriquet, Maxime; Dominguez, Stéphane; Barreca, Giovanni; Malavieille, Jacques; Cadio, Cécilia; Monaco, Carmelo (2019-12). "Deep Origin of the Dome‐Shaped Hyblean Plateau, Southeastern Sicily: A New Tectono‐Magmatic Model". Tectonics. 38 (12): 4488–4515. doi:10.1029/2019TC005548. ISSN 0278-7407. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g FöLlmi, K. B.; Gertsch, B.; Renevey, J.‐P.; De Kaenel, E.; Stille, P. (2008-08). "Stratigraphy and sedimentology of phosphate‐rich sediments in Malta and south‐eastern Sicily (latest Oligocene to early Late Miocene)". Sedimentology. 55 (4): 1029–1051. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2007.00935.x. ISSN 0037-0746. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ John, Cédric M.; Mutti, Maria; Adatte, Thierry (2003-02). "Mixed carbonate-siliciclastic record on the North African margin (Malta)—coupling of weathering processes and mid Miocene climate". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 115: 217–229. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(2003)115<0217:MCSROT>2.0.CO;2. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Jacobs, Elizabeth; Weissert, Helmut; Shields, Graham; Stille, Peter (1996-12). "The Monterey Event in the Mediterranean: A record from shelf sediments of Malta". Paleoceanography. 11 (6): 717–728. doi:10.1029/96PA02230. ISSN 0883-8305. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ P. Scandone (2), E. Patacca (2), R. (1981). "Mesozoic and Cenozoic Rocks from Malta Escarpment (Central Mediterranean)". AAPG Bulletin. 65. doi:10.1306/03b5949f-16d1-11d7-8645000102c1865d. ISSN 0149-1423.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ D’Amico, Sebastiano; Galea, Pauline; Borg, Ruben P.; Bonello, Marc (2017-03-15). "Georisks in the Mediterranean and their mitigation". Natural Hazards. 86 (S2): 199–202. doi:10.1007/s11069-017-2797-3. ISSN 0921-030X.
  12. ^ Carminati, E.; Doglioni, C. (2005), "EUROPE | Mediterranean Tectonics", Encyclopedia of Geology, Elsevier, pp. 135–146, retrieved 2024-01-09
  13. ^ Gueguen, Erwan; Doglioni, Carlo; Fernandez, Manuel (1998-11-30). "On the post-25 Ma geodynamic evolution of the western Mediterranean". Tectonophysics. 298 (1): 259–269. doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(98)00189-9. ISSN 0040-1951.
  14. ^ de la Vara, Alba; Meijer, Paul (2016-01). "Response of Mediterranean circulation to Miocene shoaling and closure of the Indian Gateway: A model study". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 442: 96–109. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.11.002. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ a b Baldassini, Niccolò; Di Stefano, Agata (2015-06). "New insights on the Oligo-Miocene succession bearing phosphatic layers of the Maltese Archipelago". Italian Journal of Geosciences. 134 (2): 355–366. doi:10.3301/IJG.2014.52. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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