The Songir Structure: Inflated Lava Flow or Tube?

Abstract

A ∼9.75 km long, sinuous structure exposed near village Songir, east of Dhile has been previously interpreted to be a lava tube on the basis of remote sensing and field checks. Detailed field investigations, however, reveals an overlapping sequence of P-Type lobes and sheets, constituting a small compound pahoehoe flow, whose sinuous form has been guided by Pre-Existing topography. The Songir structure is undoubtedly a small, Sheet-Flow that propagated by repeated branching of toes and lobes that have been emplaced through the mechanism of inflation. This pahoehoe flow does not bear any resemblance to a lava tube. The study of the Songir structure reiterates the fact that greater caution should be exercised while identifying similar structures in the large and ancient Continental Flood Basalt provinces.