The occurence of Middle-Miocene volcanism at Mount Hermon, northern Israel

A 30-m-thick basaltic dike that intrudes the Lower Cretaceous Mas'ada Formation at the southeastern flank of Mount Hermon was studied. The age of the dike, obtained by K-Ar method, is 13.4 ± 0.2 Ma. This age provides the first evidence that Middle-Miocene volcanic activity took place in the northern Golan Heights. The age and the basanite composition of the dike are similar to the known age and composition of volcanics from the Yizre'el Valley and Kokhav HaYarden. These findings should be taken into consideration when evaluating the amount of left-lateral offset achieved by the end of the Middle Miocene along the Dead Sea Transform.