Geomorphology of the Central Kurdistan Region of Iraq: landscapes of the Erbil Plain between the Great Zab and Little Zab Rivers

Abstract

We present the result of the geomorphological mapping of the central sector of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Therein, landscape evolution was mostly overseen by the regional geodynamic, related to the Arabia-Eurasia convergence, and in the Quaternary, regional climate fluctuations contributed to shaping landforms. The combination of such processes affected the distribution, types, and evolution of landforms (related to structural, hillslope, fluvial, and karst processes), with a noteworthy influence on the development of the local drainage network, which belongs to Tigris River catchment. The Great Zab and Little Zab Rivers–the main left tributaries of Tigris River–progressively cut anticline ridges growing in the area. Our analyses suggest that the structural deformation of the Zagros also controlled the evolution of the low-order channels of the hydrographic network. Since the Holocene, landforms dynamic was altered by intense human exploitation of the landscape and increased fluctuations between arid and humid conditions.