Quaternary maps of Makhtesh Hatira and Makhtesh Hazera, Negev Desert

This work presents a continuation of my Quaternary mapping project "Makhteshim Country", in the framework of the scientific program of the Ramon Science Center, the first part of which is Mapping of Quaternary units in Makhtesh Ramon central Negev, was published in this journal in 1996. In the present paper, two maps depicting Quaternary geology of Makhtesh Hatira and Makhtesh Hazera, southern Israel, are constructed in a genetic-chronological order. The major mapping units are genetically related alluvial and colluvial sediments, which constitute specific fluviatile and slope landforms (morphogenetic units). They are expressed by a series of major colors. The arrangement of each morphogenetic unit was produced according to its chronological order, and is assigned a corresponding shade of the major color. Quaternary mapping is based on morphostratigraphy, sedimentology, and absolute dating. Analysis of these two maps shows that the morphological structures are represented by almost the same sequences of alluvial terraces and pediments, and the sedimentological characters of the Quaternary units in both makhteshim have similar features, reflecting a common history during the last stages of development.