What is the predominant geological surface formation that characterizes the bedrock and plains of the Qatar peninsula?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Tertiary limestone and dolomite (notably the Dammam and Rus formations)
- Step 1: Geologically, the Qatar peninsula is a massive low-relief dome (the Qatar Arch) composed of sedimentary rocks from the Tertiary period (Eocene epoch).
- Step 2: The surface is dominated by the Dammam Formation (chalky, dolomitic limestone) and the Rus Formation (gypsiferous limestone).
- Step 3: Karst dissolution of these soluble carbonate rocks has produced the characteristic sinkholes (dahl) and depressions (rawdat) found across the country.
Answer
Tertiary limestone and dolomite (notably the Dammam and Rus formations).
Why not the others: 'Precambrian granitic basement' lies deeply buried thousands of meters beneath the sedimentary cover; 'Mesozoic basaltic lava flows' characterize western Arabian harrat fields, not the Qatari peninsula; 'Glacial moraine till deposits' occur in high latitudes, absent from the Arabian desert.
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