12 UPPER CRETACEOUS-LOWER TERTIARY FORAMINIFERA 



Nubia sandstone and variegated shale, 112 metres thick, is capped by oyster lime- 

 stone. The second was the famous Gebel Owaina section, which was later described 

 in more detail by Youssef (1954). 



Both Beadnell (1905) and Youssef (1954) considered the succession in Gebel 



Owaina to be conformable throughout. Beadnell stated that " the first fact 



that impresses the observer is the absolute conformity of the succession throughout.", 

 and Youssef also stated " The sequence is apparently conformable throughout." 



The descriptions of the succession and the interpretations of the stratigraphy 

 given by Beadnell (1905) and by Youssef (1954) are summarized and compared with 

 those of the present study in Text-fig. 4. 



Hume (1911) briefly described the succession in the shallow valleys to the east of 

 El-Kilabiya village. He considered the strata between the Campanian oyster lime- 

 stone and the Lower Eocene nummulitic limestone as belonging to the Danian, 

 which he regarded as the uppermost Cretaceous. 



Stromer & Weiler (1930) described the vertebrate remains of both the Nubia 

 formation and the overlying phosphate beds of the Mahamid district, and the 

 geology of the same district was briefly dealt with by Nakkady (195 lb). In agree- 

 ment with previous works, these authors confirmed the Campanian age of both the 

 Nubia and the phosphate formations. 



Cuvillier (19370,6) in a very generalized discussion, assigned the shale and the 

 intervening chalk succession of both Gebel El-Kilabiya and Gebel El-Sharawna to 

 what he collectively described as Maestrichtian-Danian. 



Youssef (1954) described the succession in the Gebel Owaina section, using the 

 Foraminifera as well as the macrofossils to interpret the stratigraphy. Although he 

 overlooked the distinct break between the Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks and 

 considered the Danian (within which he included most of the Paleocene) as the 

 youngest stage of the Cretaceous system, his study is the only serious attempt to 

 tackle the stratigraphical problems of this section. Youssef did not deal with the 

 Nubia sandstone and the phosphate beds which constitute the lowest part of the 

 succession, but simply noted that Beadnell (1905) assigned a Campanian age to the 

 latter beds. However, he referred the shale section directly overlying the phosphate 

 beds to the Maestrichtian, and arbitrarily considered the Maestrichtian-Danian 

 boundary to cut through the middle part of his 97 metres thick shale succession 

 overlying the Pecten mayereymari marl (see Text-fig. 4). He assigned the upper 

 half of this shale section and the overlying chalk bed to the Danian, and referred the 

 upper shale section to the Paleocene and the overlying siliceous limestones to the 

 Lower Eocene, although he added that a closer study may prove that these lime- 

 stones are still of Paleocene age. 



Youssef (1954), following Cuvillier (1934) and Nakkady (1951a) suggested that the 

 term Esna shale, as a formation name, should be abandoned to avoid the different 

 age significances adhering to the term through long use. However, he added that the 



