The Sultanate of Oman: an exceptional territory for the study of plate tectonics and geomorphology

Abstract

The northeastern tip of the Arabian Plate and more precisely the Sultanate of Oman is proving to be an exceptional territory for understanding the geological and geomorphological questions facing scientists. Whether it is the problems of plate tectonics, orogenesis (lithology, structure, tectonics) or surface morphologies (fluvial, wind, coastal erosion, karstogenesis, etc.), routes in the mountains of Oman, its canyons or its deserts are very instructive. Among the main interests we will highlight the presence of the largest exposed ocean floor in the world (Sémail site), the incision in canyons of the raised terrain, an important little-known karst and exceptional deserts. These special circumstances have also made Oman a place of mineral deposits of rare metals and hydrocarbons, the basis of a very ancient human occupation and, with tourism, of its present wealth.