Geology and Relief Development of Israel

Until the Eocene, Israel region was mostly affected by the passive margin conditions prevailing at the north-west edge of the African Plate, associated with epeirogenic movements and eustatic fluctuations close to the sea-land transition. The Syrian Arc folding, active since the Santonian, has some implications on the present-day relief. During the late Eocene–Oligocene, an extensive regression and regional uplift shifted the coast to the NW exposing the area to severe denudation. Moderate tectonism occurred since the Oligocene and the early Miocene and increased through the break-up of the Arabian–African plates along the Dead Sea transform since the early Miocene (Nuriel et al., 2017). Since the Miocene until today, the relief of Israel was enhanced mainly by deep depressions along the Dead Sea fault system, accompanied by arching of the hilly backbone of Israel, where a new water divide was established. Erosion, denudation and deposition have played a mixed role of shaping the landscape over geological timescales. The tectonic-based relief has been reduced and modified to gentle convex hills under Mediterranean environment. Fluvial erosion responding to backbone uplift coeval with lowering base levels has dissected the landscape and created canyons and cliffs, in particular under dry environments and in cohesive rocks, mainly along the Dead Sea transform margin.