Jabal al-Lawz ( ar, جَبَل ٱللَّوْز), also known as Gebel el-Lawz, is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

located in northwest

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, near the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian border, above the

Gulf of Aqaba The Gulf of Aqaba ( ar, خَلِيجُ ٱلْعَقَبَةِ, Khalīj al-ʿAqabah) or Gulf of Eilat ( he, מפרץ אילת, Mifrátz Eilát) is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian ...

at above sea level. The name means 'mountain of almonds'.Hoffmeier, James Karl ''Ancient Israel in Sinai'' Oxford University Press USA 2005 p13

/ref> The peak of Jabal al-Lawz, consists of a light-colored, calc-alkaline

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

that is intruded by rhyolite and

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...

dikes Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

which generally trend eastward.Trent, V.A., and R.F. Johnson (1967) ''Geologic map of the Jabal al Lawz Quadrangle, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 1:100,000.'' Mineral Investigation Map MI-13. United States Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, and Mineral Resources Research, Directorate General of Mineral Resources. Saudi Arabia. Between 1300 and 2200 meters elevation, Jabal al-Lawz has relict Mediterranean woodlands of ''

Juniperus phoenicea ''Juniperus phoenicea'', the Phoenicean juniper or Arâr, is a juniper found throughout the Mediterranean region. Description ''Juniperus phoenicea'' is a large shrub or small tree reaching tall, with a trunk up to in diameter and a rounded o ...

'', with an understory of ''Achillea santolinoides, Artemisia sieberi'', and ''Astracantha echinus'' subsp. ''arabica''. In discussions about the location of

biblical Mount Sinai Mount Sinai (, ''Har Sīnay'') is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God, according to the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. In the Book of Deuteronomy, these events are described as having transpired at Mount ...

, Jabal Maqlā ('Burnt Mountain') is often believed to be ''Jabal al-Lawz'' by various authors such as

Bob Cornuke Bob Cornuke (born 1951) is an American writer and president of the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE), which is operated from his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He describes himself as a Biblical archaeologist, but has no ...

Ron Wyatt Ronald Eldon Wyatt (June 2, 1933 – August 4, 1999) was an American nurse anesthetist noted for advocating the Durupınar site in Turkey as the location of Noah's Ark's landing place, along with almost 100 other alleged biblically-related disco ...

, and Lennart Möller as shown by local and regional maps and noted by other investigators.Caldwell, J., and P. Caldwell (2011) ''The Real Mount Sinai.'' Split Rock Research Foundation, Diamondhead, Mississippi. 60 pp. In contrast to the real Jabal al-Lawz, the summit of Jabal Maqlā consists mainly of dark-colored

hornfel Hornfels is the group name for a set of contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and hardened by the heat of intrusive igneous masses and have been rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in some cases exceedingly tough and durable. These pro ...

s derived from

metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic ...

s that originally were

silicic Silicic is an adjective to describe magma or igneous rock rich in silica. The amount of silica that constitutes a silicic rock is usually defined as at least 63 percent. Granite and rhyolite are the most common silicic rocks. Silicic is the grou ...

and

mafic A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks incl ...

lava flows Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of ...

s, and fragmental greenstones. The middle and lower slopes of Jabal Maqlā consist of light-colored granite, which has

intruded Intrusive rock is formed when magma penetrates existing rock, crystallizes, and solidifies underground to form '' intrusions'', such as batholiths, dikes, sills, laccoliths, and volcanic necks.Intrusive RocksIntrusive rocks accessdate: March 2 ...

into the overlying hornfels. This is the same granite that comprises Jabal al-Lawz. Jabal Maqla is about 7 kilometers to the south, and a few hundred meters lower. Claims made by some writers, including Bob Cornuke, Ron Wyatt, and Lennart Moller, that Jabal Maqlā, possibly identified as ''Jabal al-Lawz'', is the real

have been rejected by such scholars as James Karl Hoffmeier (Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern History and Archaeology), who details what he calls Cornuke's "monumental blunders".Jameson, John H. John E. Ehrenhard, Christine Finn ''Ancient muses: archaeology and the arts'' University of Alabama Press (30 Jun 2003) p.17

/ref> Remains both of pillars and cairns at the site have been described as "similar to rock cairns of uncertain use and often uncertain date found at other sites throughout northern and western Arabia."

References

External links

"Jabal al Lawz, Saudi Arabia" on Peakbagger
{{Mountains in the Arabian Peninsula Lawz Midian Two-thousanders of Asia

See also

References

External links