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Harrat Kishb Volcano | John Seach
Saudi Arabia
22.80 N, 41.38 E
summit elevation 1475 m
Volcanic field
Harrat Kishb Volcano is located in central Saudi Arabia. The volcano contains scoria cones, tuff rings, maars, lava domes and lava flows.
Harrat Kishb Caves
The caves of Harrat Kishb are located in a basaltic lava field, 270 km northeast of Jeddah. The volcano contains scoria cones and lava flows, erupted over the past million years covering an area of 5,892 sq km.
Mut’eb Cave (Kahf Al Mut’eb)
Mut’eb was the first lava cave in Saudi Arabia to be accurately surveyed. The cave is located close to a walking trail from Baghdad to Mecca, which was built by Queen Zubaydah, the wife of Caliph Harun al-Rashid around the beginning of the ninth century A.D. The cave is 150 m long. The entrance to the cave measures 3 x 7 m and is found on the eastern side of a collapse 20 m in diameter. There are remains of an ancient, man-made wall across the front of the cave.
Ghostly Cave (Kahf Al Ashbaah)
The cave is located in an area of Hil Basalt deposits. The cave is 320 m long. The entrance is a collapse 10 m in diameter with a 7 m drop to a flat floor below. Man-made constructions and two ancient throwing sticks were found in the cave.
Dahl Faisal
The cave is found in a “whale-back” lava flow of the Jabal Zuwayr volcano. Dahl Faisal is 22 m long. The cave is entered through a smooth, 3-m-long pipe, 80 cm diameter at its narrowest point. Dahl Faisal is located 60 km east of Darb Zubaydah and 70 km southeast of Mahad adh Dhahab, reputedly the site of one of King Solomon’s Mines.
Further reading
Downs, Drew T., et al. "Volcanic history of the northernmost part of the Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Saudi Arabia." Geosphere 14.3 (2018): 1253-1282.
Wahab, Antar Abdel, et al. "The geology and geochronology of Al Wahbah maar crater, Harrat Kishb, Saudi Arabia." Quaternary Geochronology 21 (2014): 70-76.
Camp, V.E., Roobol, M.J. and Hooper, P.R., 1992. The Arabian continental alkali basalt province: Part III. Evolution of Harrat Kishb, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(4), pp.379-396.
Harrat Kishb Volcano Eruptions
No recent eruptions.