geology
the landscapes of oman are strikingly varied and of bewildering beauty : cool lofty mountains cut by over 1000-meter-deep gorges, seemingly endless simmering hot gravel planes,golden high sand dunes and grey salt-which all attract tourists and geologists alike.
superb rock outcrops in the mountains are a paradise for geologists from around the world. the country's rock record spans more than one billion years. next to thick layers of limestone, testifying to tropical conditions in the past, the rock recorded three periods when the country was ice covered, somewhat surprising given its present climate. dark coloured semail ophiolites, a layered mix of volcanics and rock originating from very deep ( up to 10 km.) in the earth, were pushed from north to south onto the land over hundreds of kilometres 75 million years ago. these ophiolites locally can be rich in copper and chrome.