Structural framework of the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba), northern Red Sea.

Recent geophysical and geological studies of the Gulf of Elat including bathymetry, bottom photographs, continuous seismic profiles, seismic refraction, gravity, magnetics, heat flow, and coring, provide new information about the shallow and deep crustal structure of the important segment of the world rift system. Overall, it seems that within the S Gulf of Elat a transition occurs between crustal spreading that takes place in the Red Sea to a rifting without spreading that takes place along the Dead Sea transform. Spreading activity propagates from S to N. The most active place is the central basin which is being propagated N into the shallow N basin.-from Authors