Mineralogy of Lower Diyala River Sediments Northeastern Baghdad

Abstract

     The purpose of this study is to determine the mineralogical composition of Lower Diyala River, northeastern of Baghdad, and attempt to define the sources of sediments. 10 samples were collected from Lower Diyala River from the area between Himreen Dam to south Baghdad, where these samples are dealings by the heavy liquid to separated into light and heavy minerals. The light minerals contents are composed mainly of quartz, feldspars, and rock fragments. The main rocks fragments consist of; igneous, metamorphic, carbonate, chert rock fragments, and evaporites. The heavy minerals contents are opaques minerals, chlorite, amphiboles, pyroxenes, epidote, zircon, garnet, muscovite, biotite, kyanite, tourmaline, staurolite, and rutile. The source area of these sediments is the outcrops of Upper Miocene-Pliocene rocks at the northeastern part of the studied area, igneous, and metamorphic rocks in the northeastern Iraq and Iran.