Evidence for Pleistocene lakes in the Tushka region, south Egypt

Abstract

Research Article| December 01, 2010 Evidence for Pleistocene lakes in the Tushka region, south Egypt Ted A. Maxwell; Ted A. Maxwell * 1Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013, USA *E-mail: [e-mail]. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Bahay Issawi; Bahay Issawi 2Consulting Geologist, 16 Misaha Street, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar C. Vance Haynes, Jr. C. Vance Haynes, Jr. 3Departments of Anthropology and Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Ted A. Maxwell * 1Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013, USA Bahay Issawi 2Consulting Geologist, 16 Misaha Street, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt C. Vance Haynes, Jr. 3Departments of Anthropology and Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA *E-mail: [e-mail]. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 21 Apr 2010 Revision Received: 16 Jul 2010 Accepted: 23 Jul 2010 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2010 Geological Society of America Geology (2010) 38 (12): 1135–1138. https://doi.org/10.1130/G31320.1 Article history Received: 21 Apr 2010 Revision Received: 16 Jul 2010 Accepted: 23 Jul 2010 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Ted A. Maxwell, Bahay Issawi, C. Vance Haynes; Evidence for Pleistocene lakes in the Tushka region, south Egypt. Geology 2010;; 38 (12): 1135–1138. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G31320.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Space Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data have revealed new details on the extent and geomorphic relations of paleodrainage in southern Egypt. Following a period of late Tertiary drainage from the Red Sea Hills south through Wadi Qena and west across the Tushka region, the Nile River as we now know it established its connections with Central Africa and the Mediterranean in the middle Pleistocene (oxygen isotope stage, OIS 7 to OIS 5). SRTM topography reveals a lake level at ∼247 m that is coincident with the elevation of middle Pleistocene fish fossils 400 km west of the Nile, and with the termination of shallow runoff channels in northern Sudan that were active during the middle Pleistocene and Holocene pluvial periods. An additional lake level at ∼190 m is based on the current elevation at Wadi Tushka, and is consistent with Paleolithic sites at Bir Kiseiba followed by Neolithic sites at lower topographic levels. Overflow of the Nile through Wadi Tushka during the wetter north African climate of the middle Pleistocene, coupled with limited local rainfall, was the likely source of water for these lakes. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.