Oman’s distinct landscape with its mountains and valleys is an attraction to visitors throughout the year. It has also been an open lab for international geologists and students.
Explaining the journey of Oman is the Museum of Oman Across Ages. The enchanting experience which is an educational tour begins with an explanation of how Oman’s journey began millions of years ago. It covers Oman’s geological areas such as Precambrian rocks and deposits, Palaeozoic deposits, Mesozoic rocks and Cenozoic deposits.
The museum takes one back to the formation of the land itself, which was formed over hundreds of millions of years.
So how was the crust formed? Was it any different from other lands? Powerful geological forces had compressed Oman’s crust. The movement made the rocks get folded into mountains and the land was repeatedly submerged beneath the sea. While this was happening, dramatic changes occurred in climate.
The museum narrates how new life appeared, and others either adapted or became extinct. The land we see today was shaped by geological factors which continue to influence its culture and economy.
Pressure, heat, erosion and other processes shape the landscapes of Oman and is today an open geological lab.
The fascination has been because of the tectonic plates moving across the earth’s surface that ended up pushing sections of oceanic crust upward, forming Oman’s dark-shaded mountains of Ophiolite. The museum explains that the limestone slabs from ancient seabeds were also uplifted in the process, which is why marine fossils have been discovered on the highest mountain peaks of Oman.
Erosion caused by glaziers and rain narrate clear stories along with carved cannons and wadis. Wind erosion played its part in sculpting the landscape at the same time in depositing sand and creating dunes in the desert region.
Detailed videos educate visitors by providing glimpses of how Oman must have looked under the forest cover and underwater. Giving an insight are tree trunks that are now rocks and on display at the museum.
About 70 million years ago, Oman had dinosaurs and yet another video explains when the Red Sea had begun to open. Giving a realistic perspective is a corner with Majlis al Jinn with a depiction of how it would have been underwater and then the video takes one to the current scenario coming out of its opening on top. Photos by Shamsa al Harthi
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