151 The Landscapes of Mt. Carmel: A Remarkable Record of Geological and Geomorphological History Nurit Shtober-Zisu 9 Abstract Mount Carmel is a notable landmark in the northern region of Israel. It is a precipitous mountain range com- posed of dolomite, limestone, and chalk, southeast of the Haifa Bay, rising steeply to over 500 m a.s.l. The moun- tain is rich in its geological and geomorphologic diver- sity determining a wide range of landforms, a mosaic of settlements, agricultural areas, prehistoric and archaeo- logical sites. The chapter aims to present a macro-level portrait of the landforms of Mt. Carmel, their spatial distribution, origin, evolution and ages, and therefore to emphasize the diversity and beauty of its geomorpho- logical sceneries. The chapter summarizes the lithostrati- graphic sequence, the main tectonic uplift phases and ultimately, the predominant landscapes and landforms of Mt. Carmel. Keywords Mt. Carmel · Geomorphology · Karst · Abrasion surfaces · Calcrete · Inland notches 9.1 Introduction Mt. Carmel is a prominent ridge located in northwestern Israel, extending from the Haifa Bay in the north to Ramat Menashe (“Menashe Heights”) in the south, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Jezreel valley in the east. The present landscape of Mt. Carmel reflects the prolonged interactions between lithology, tectonics, and surface processes, resulting in the current topography. The aim of this chapter is to acknowledge the complexity of the regional morphology and to outline the long-term geomor- phic history interacting with contemporaneous processes to shape the Carmel landforms and landscape. Mt. Carmel is characterized by a triangular shape extending over 230 km 2 , with a maximum length of 33 km along the Mediterranean coast and maximum width of 12 km. The three vertices of the triangle are located at Rosh Carmel (Stella Maris in Haifa) at the northernmost edge, Ramat Ha’Nadiv (Hotem ha’Carmel) to the south, and Keren Carmel (Muhraqa) to the south-east. The three sides of the triangle form an independent mountainous division, distinguished from their surrounding by prominent topogra- phy. Their origin and evolution are reflected in three types of slopes found in nature: the western slopes, which drop precipitously to the coastal plain, were formed by coastal abrasion in the Pliocene; the southern slopes, which bend gradually towards the Menashe syncline, form the Carmel anticlinal flank; and the northeastern edge is marked by the steep Carmel prominent fault escarpment (Fig. 9.1). 9.2 Geological Settings 9.2.1 The Lithostratigraphic Sequence The paleogeographic configuration of the Levant basin allowed for an extensive carbonate platform to develop within the Tethys sea, from the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) onward. Most of the exposed rocks of Mt. Carmel are car- bonates and constitute part of the Upper Cretaceous Judea Group. The stratigraphy is complicated due to significant facies changes over short distances and due to the existence of multiple faults dissecting the ridge. The various facies changes reflect the location of Mt. Carmel close to the edge of the Cretaceous carbonate platform and the variety © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024 A. Frumkin and N. Shtober-Zisu (eds.), Landscapes and Landforms of Israel, World Geomorphological Landscapes, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44764-8_9 N. Shtober-Zisu (*) School of Environmental Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel e-mail: nshtober@research.haifa.ac.il