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Wadi Al-Kharana
Wadi Harrana is a seasonal stream (''wadi'') in the eastern Jordanian Syrian Desert, Badia, about sixty kilometers southeast of the city of Amman. It runs eastwards from the edge of the Jordanian Highlands to the Azraq oasis. Flora and fauna Harrana's climate, much like most of Jordan, is influenced by the moderate Mediterranean climate from the west, the very hot Sahara's climate from the east, and the cold European climate from the north. Though arid, the area is rich in animal life. Birds, owls, rodents, rabbits, foxes, occasional wolves and hyenas, snakes, and lizards are some of the animals that take refuge in Harrana. A variety of flowering plants bloom during late winter and early spring months, including Mustard plant, mustard plants, Papaver orientale, oriental poppies, and wild irises. ''Cistanche tubulosa'', or the desert broomrape, is another resident in Harrana blooming towards the end of spring and beginning of summer. Palaeontology Harrana is significant for i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wadi
Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portions of alluvial fans and extend to inland sabkhas or dry lakes. Permanent channels do not exist, due to lack of continual water flow. Water percolates down into the stream bed, causing an abrupt loss of energy and resulting in vast deposition. Wadis may develop dams of sediment that change the stream patterns in the next flash flood. Wadis tend to be associated with centers of human population because sub-surface water is sometimes available in them. Nomadic and pastoral desert peoples will rely on seasonal vegetation found in wadis, even in regions as dry as the Sahara, as they travel in complex transhumance routes. The centrality of wadis to water – and human life – in desert environments gave birth to the distinct sub-field of wadi h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science), crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Limestone forms when these minerals Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. Limestone often contains fossils which provide scientists with information on ancient environments and on the evolution of life. About 20% to 25% of sedimentary rock is carbonate rock, and most of this is limestone. The remaining carbonate rock is mostly Dolomite (rock), dolomite, a closely related rock, which contains a high percentage of the mineral Dolomite (mine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeological Sites In Jordan
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. The discipline involves surveying, excavation, and eventually analysis of data collected, to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology is distinct from palaeontology, which is the study of fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kharaneh IV
Kharaneh IV (or Kharaneh 4) is an archaeological site in Jordan. The site contains evidence of human activity dating to the Late Pleistocene. Its main period of occupation was 18,900 to 16,600 BC. Description Kharaneh IV is located in the Wadi Kharaneh near the town of Azraq, Jordan. It was first recorded by F. E. Zeuner in 1955. Excavations at the site began under M. Muheisen in the 1980s and were resumed in 2008 under the direction of Lisa Maher and Danielle Macdonald. In the 2010 field season, Maher's and Macdonald's team discovered two hut structures thought to be among the oldest habitation structures in the Levant. The site covers 21,000 square meters, and is the largest known Late Pleistocene site in the area. Notably, the remains of brushwood structures dating to the Early Epipalaeolithic period have been found at Kharaneh IV. Tools and large concentrations of ochre and marine shells have also been found at the site. In addition, woman's remains dated back to 19,200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qasr Kharana
Qasr Harrana (), sometimes Qasr al-Kharana, Harana, Qasr al-Harrana, Qasr al-Haranah, Haraneh, Khauranee, or Hraneh, is one of the best-known of the desert castles located in present-day eastern Jordan, about east of Amman and relatively close to the border with Saudi Arabia. It is uncertain when the palace was constructed, but it likely originates from the Umayyad Dynasty. An inscription on an upper wall dates the building to before 710 CE. A Greek or Byzantine house may have existed on the site. The purpose of the building is a subject of debate among scholars. Theories as to the qasr's purpose include a Crusader's castle, a military stronghold, agricultural outpost, and resting place for caravan travelers. The current scholarly consensus is that the building was used as for meeting between local Bedouin leaders. Description The qasr is a nearly square building, on each side, with three-quarter-round buttresses at the corners, a projecting rounded entrance on the south side w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saurocephalus
''Saurocephalus'' (from , 'lizard' and 'head') is an extinct genus of ray-finned fishes within the family Saurodontidae.Maisey, J. G.1991. ''Santana Fossils, an Illustrated Atlas''. New Jersey, T.F.H. Publications Inc., 190–207. The genus was first described in 1824 and contains six or seven species, including the type species ''S. lanciformis''.Harlan, R. 1824. On a new fossil genus of the order Enalio Sauri, (of Conybeare). ''Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia''. Series 1, 3(pt. 2): 331-337. ''Saurocephalus'' first appeared during the early Valanginian and continued on to the Maastrichtian, where it nearly went extinct.Kaddumi, H. F. 2009. Saurodontids (Ichthyodectiformes: Saurocephalus) of Harrana with a description of a new species from the late Maastrichtian Muwaqqar Chalk Marl Formation. In: Fossils of the Harrana Fauna and the Adjacent Areas. ''Publications of the Eternal River Museum of Natural History'', Amman, pp 215-231. However, the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teleostean
Teleostei (; Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts (), is, by far, the largest group of ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii), with 96% of all extant species of fish. The Teleostei, which is variously considered a division or an infraclass in different taxonomic systems, include over 26,000 species that are arranged in about 40 orders and 448 families. Teleosts range from giant oarfish measuring or more, and ocean sunfish weighing over , to the minute male anglerfish ''Photocorynus spiniceps'', just long. Including not only torpedo-shaped fish built for speed, teleosts can be flattened vertically or horizontally, be elongated cylinders or take specialised shapes as in anglerfish and seahorses. The difference between teleosts and other bony fish lies mainly in their jaw bones; teleosts have a movable premaxilla and corresponding modifications in the jaw musculature which make it possible for them to protrude their jaws o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muwaqqar Chalk Marl Formation
The Muwaqqar Chalk-Marl Formation or Muwaqqar Formation is a Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and early Paleogene-aged geological formation in Jordan, cropping out across the Jordanian Highlands from north to south. It is the geological formation containing Jordan's famous Oil shale in Jordan, oil shales, which are among the largest in the world. Some outcrops of the formation contain extremely well-preserved fossils, making it a lagerstätte. Environment The formation appears to have been deposited in a Pelagic zone, pelagic subtropical environment on the outer continental shelf of the Afro-Arabian continent, with the Harrana locality being deposited no deeper than below the surface, based on the occurrence of depth-limited fauna such as Ginglymostomatidae, nurse sharks. The formation of this habitat likely originates from a major marine transgression of the Tethys Ocean at the same time as this depositional event, turning it into an open water ecosystem. The oil shales may have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasaur
Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Ancient Greek, Greek ' meaning 'lizard') are an extinct group of large aquatic reptiles within the family Mosasauridae that lived during the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764. They belong to the order Squamata, which includes lizards and snakes. During the last 20 million years of the Cretaceous period (Turonian–Maastrichtian ages), with the extinction of the ichthyosaurs and Pliosauridae, pliosaurs, mosasaurids became the dominant marine predators. They themselves became extinct as a result of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, K-Pg event at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago. Description Mosasaurs breathed air, were powerful swimmers, and were well-adapted to living in the warm, shallow Inland sea (geology), inland seas prevalent during the Late Cretaceous period. Mosasaurs were so well adapted to thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutionary history, evolution of dinosaurs is a subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya and their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, Evolution of birds, having evolved from earlier Theropoda, theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. Dinosaurs are varied from taxonomy (biology), taxonomic, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (stratigraphy), Series, the Cretaceous geologic period, Period or system (stratigraphy), System, and of the Mesozoic geologic era, Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from . The Maastrichtian was preceded by the Campanian and succeeded by the Danian (part of the Paleogene and Paleocene). It is named after the city of Maastricht, the capital and largest city of the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province in the Netherlands. The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (formerly known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary period, Tertiary extinction event) occurred at the end of this age. In this extinction event, mass extinction, many commonly recognized groups such as non-avian dinosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, as well as many other lesser-kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
