The geochemical characteristics of the shale of the Chia Gara Formation (Middle Tithonian- Berriasian) from the Imbricated Zone (Barsarin section) and High Folded Zone (Banik section) Kurdistan Region, Iraq, was carried out to constrain their paleoweathering, provenance, and depositional environment. There are no clear differences in the major and trace elements of the Chia Gara Formation between the two studied sections. The chemical index of alteration (CIA) is significantly higher in the Barsarin than the Banik shales, suggesting more intense weathering of the Barsarin than the Banik shales. The samples of the Banik and some of Barsarin are clustered near the A-K line in A-CN-K plot suggests intense chemical weathering (high CIA) without any clear-cut evidence of K-metasomatism. The other samples of Barsarin have a weathering trend parallel to the A-CN line, indicating relativelysteady state weathering conditions. The geochemical parameters of the shale (Al2O3/TiO2,

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IntroductionGeochemical data of fine-grained clastic sedimentary rocks, such as shales and siltstones, have been used to evaluate the nature of the parent rock and intensity of weathering, as well as to identify the tectonic setting of the source region (

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