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Honorary members of the Geological Society
Honorary members of the Geological Society
Honorary members of the Geological Society
Day tours for the general public
The week of Sukkot, 2019
background
As part of an approach that sees the importance of making geology science accessible to the public in Israel, the President of the Geological Society for 2018-19, Zohar Gvirtzman (Geological Institute and the Hebrew University), initiated a day of tours for amateurs and the general public. The tours will take place for the second year, in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Nature, on the holiday of Sukkot, 17 Tishrei, 5764, 16.10.2019. Seven tours around the country are planned under the guidance of geologists from the Israeli Geological Society: the Lower Galilee, Caesarea, Sorek Cave, Ramon Crater and the Eilat Mountains. The tours to the Dead Sea and the Great Crater were postponed at this stage due to unresponsiveness
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Participation in the tours is conditional on pre-registration and a nominal fee through the website of the Society for the Protection of Nature. Please note that the meeting point for each tour will be provided when registering on the site.
To register and more details on the website of the Society for the Protection of Nature, click here
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Volcanic phenomena and refraction systems in the Lower Galilee
Training :
Dr. Gideon Bar, Israel Geological Survey.
The route:
We will visit dyke outcrops on the Tamra - Neura road, observe the Lower Galilee and Nahal Tavor from the Gazit area, and walk a circular route of about 5 km to the volcanic and dyke crater of Nahal Tavor.
Difficulty:
Medium - difficult (steep descent to Nahal Tavor).
Target Audience:
Adults and children over the age of 12 - well-traveled.
The tour will take place in private vehicles. The tour requires a split of vehicles.
Hours:
09: 00-16: 30.
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Geological background:
The deep subsidence of the Middle Tabor River and its tributaries, and artificial outcrops on the sides of roads, allow for a unique observation of a wide variety of geological structures and volcanic and sedimentary phenomena, side by side. In this tour we focus on a relatively limited area, where one of the few volcanic craters in the Galilee was almost completely exposed. Its exposure reveals a diverse feeding system and volcanic products, flow patterns and progress of dikes, and complex field relations between the crater and the surrounding rocks and nearby geological structures.
Tsunami events in the port of Caesarea
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Instruction:
Dr. Beverly Goodman Chernov, Dr. Moshe Strauss Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Haifa.
The route:
We will meet at the entrance to the southern parking lot of Caesarea National Park (entrance of the theater). From there we split the vehicles and drove to the starting point of the tour at the Aqueduct Beach (also known as Arches Beach). We will follow the aqueduct south towards the Crusader part of the old city. On our way along the coast we will visit ancient remains of urban infrastructure such as the sewer system, fortification walls and the synagogue. We will end at the National Park with modern and ancient evidence of past tsunami events.
Level of difficulty:
Medium, estimated walking about 5 km.
Target Audience:
All ages.
The tour will take place in private vehicles. The tour requires a split of vehicles.
Hours:
09: 00-16: 30
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Geological background:
Caesarea was founded by King Herod about 2000 years ago. The construction of the artificial port of Caesarea included unique and groundbreaking technological developments of their time, which attempted to address the engineering complexity of construction on the coastline. Nevertheless, at one point the port sank beneath the waves and was not in use. Evidence of tsunami events in and around the port has aroused geological interest in the history of the port of Caesarea. At least three tsunami events (and even one possible fourth event) were recorded after the port was built.
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Sorek Cave (Avshalom Cave)
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Instruction:
Dr. Avner Ayalon, Israel Geological Institute
The route:
A circular tour of the Whistling Cave. The route is accessible to the disabled.
Difficulty:
easy.
Target Audience:
All ages.
Hours:
16: 00-18: 00
Geological background:
Caves in which stalactites dangle from the ceiling, sentinels growing from the floor and other spectacular shapes are considered among the favorite natural phenomena of travelers all over the world. Next to the largest and most famous caves in the world, there is a cave in Israel which, compared to world-famous caves, is considered small but spectacular in its beauty. This impressive cave is the Stalactite Cave (Avshalom Cave, Sorek Cave). The Stalactite Cave is located on the western slopes of the Judean Mountains and was discovered in 1968 following an explosion in a wet quarry near Beit Shemesh. The cave was declared a nature reserve (Avshalom Reserve) to protect it from explosions during the quarrying work. Until its discovery, the cave was closed, with no external opening to the atmosphere, and even after it was opened to visitors, the Nature and Parks Authority took care to preserve it as a closed cave, so that its conditions remained as close as possible to pre-eruption conditions. It is about 80 meters long, about 60 meters wide and about 12 meters high. The thickness of the rock cover above it ranges from 12 to 40 meters. Above its ceiling are pockets of land containing Mediterranean vegetation. The relative humidity in a cave close to 100% of the temperature is the average perennial temperature on the surface, about 20 degrees Celsius. At the time of the discovery of the cave, the concentration of carbon dioxide in it was twice as high as its concentration in the atmosphere. Today, due to the large number of visitors, its concentration has increased, but it is regulated using advanced equipment so that the cave will not be damaged. The cave was probably formed about 4-6 million years ago, before the rise of the Judean Mountains, when the height of the area was close to the level of sea water. The cave developed inside dolomite and limestone rocks that are about 95 million years old. Since the formation of the cave, the area has risen, and today it is about 400 meters above sea level. Other caves are known in the area at the same topographic height as the Samson Cave and the Twin Caves.
Since the discovery of Avshalom Cave and its opening to the general public in the 1970s, the Geological Survey has been conducting research and monitoring the composition of the water reaching the cave, the composition of the stalactites and stalagmites, the temperature and atmosphere of the cave. The research and monitoring is conducted with the aim of preserving the cave in its natural form despite being a tourist hotspot and extracting the information stored in the many spectacular forms of its rocks. Along with the spectacular beauty of the cave, it is a window to what is happening underground and to monitor the water flowing from the surface to the groundwater. Researchers at the Geological Survey use cave sediment to restore climate change and restore ancient earthquakes. In the tour we will explain how these studies are conducted.
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Ramon Crater
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Training: Dr. Yaron Finzi, Desert and Dead Sea R&D
The route: We will start the day with a short walk from the Negev Mountain Basin along the crater cliff - where we will get acquainted with the diversity and heritage issues and the geological history of the crater. Expect. "
Difficulty level: Medium - Difficult
Target audience: Adults and children over the age of 16 - well-traveled
The tour will take place in private vehicles. The tour requires a split of vehicles.
Hours:
09: 00-16: 30
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Geological background: Ramon Crater is a natural phenomenon of international importance and uniqueness that encodes a rich variety of phenomena and evidence of processes and environmental conditions that have existed here for 250 million years! The tour will reveal to the traveler During the day he was also exposed to the processes that shaped the crater and its surroundings and which continue since then. The tour also includes an initial introduction to a new and unique route - the Ramon route.
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Geology and landscape design in the Eilat Mountains - Black River
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Instruction:
Dr. Hanan Ginat, R&D Desert and Dead Sea, Head of the Eilot Regional Council
The route:
Beginning of the walking route at the entrance to the Black Mall. Circular tour.
Level of difficulty:
Medium. The tour lasts about 4 hours.
Target Audience:
Adults and children over the age of 12
The tour in private cars.
Hours:
12: 00-16: 30
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Geological background:
In the geological tour we will get to know all the main landscape-rock units of the Eilat area - the ancient igneous rocks, the Nubian sandstones, the marine sedimentary rocks and the young river alluvium. On the tour we will meet one of the main geological replicas of the prairie area that copies the sedimentary rocks alongside the dwarf rocks. We will also get to know the hydrological aspects of Black Canyon.