Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1
Location and main themes of the selected geosites of trails
“
A
”
and
“
B
”
across the Southern Provinces of Morocco
Geosite GPS coordinates
(N
×
Wa
°
b
′
c
″
)
Distance to
paved road
Structural
domain
Main themes illustrated
A1
23 45 20
×
15 55 30
30 m
Atlantic margin basin
Sedimentation. Continental uplift
Coastal erosion
A2
23 53 97
×
15 42 67
400 m
Atlantic margin basin
Hydrological resources. Artesian well
Stratigraphy
A3
23 28 42
×
15 57 10
300 m
Atlantic margin basin
Sedimentology. Marine fossils. Phosphate genesis
A4
23 35 27
×
15 41 53
50 m
Atlantic margin basin
Continental fossils and sedimentation. Paleogeography
23 19 36
×
15 13 58
A5
300 m
Atlantic margin basin
Continental sedimentation. Unconformity. Neolithic engraving
23 11 87
×
15 04 78
A6
100 m
Adrar Souttouf nappes
Metamorphism (metagabbros). Structural geology
A7
22 33 01
×
14 19 02
20
-
150 m
Reguibat Shield (WAC) Metamorphism (orthogneiss). Magmatism
(dyke and pluton intrusions). Archean geology
A8
22 35 52
×
14 24 09
100 m
Reguibat Shield (WAC) Metamorphism (migmatites). Deep petrogenesis.
Structural geology
A9
22 37 38
×
14 24 29
3.5 km
WAC Palaeozoic cover
Upper Ordovician glaciation. Unconformity. Archean geology
A10
22 36 44
×
14 28 57
5.5 km
Adrar Souttouf nappes
Structural geology. Nappe kinematics. Metamorphism
(metapelites)
B1
28 17 44
×
11 31 30
50
-
500 m
Atlantic margin basin
Sedimentology (bituminous marls). Economic geology
(oil and gas). Estuarine morphology
B2
28 28 45
×
11 12 15
20 m
Atlantic margin basin
Continental sedimentation. Geomorphology
(marine terraces). Paleogeography
B3
28 23 24
×
11 01 01
20 m
Anti-Atlas fold belt
Lecture of a landscape. Unconformity. Paleogeography
and morphology
B4
28 20 46
×
10 56 03
100 m
Anti-Atlas fold belt
Structural geology (basement-cover relationships; tectonic
cleavage)
B5
28 16 40
×
10 54 07
50 m
Anti-Atlas fold belt
Stratigraphy (Cambrian quartzites). Structural geology
(joint systems)
B6
28 13 22
×
13 53 12
100 m
Anti-Atlas fold belt
Stratigraphy (Ordovician periglacial deposit).
Appalachian morphology
B7
28 03 33
×
10 53 19
10 m
Anti-Atlas fold belt
Structural geology (cylindrical anticline). Economic resources
(oolithic iron). Sebkha
B8
28 06 47
×
10 52 54
10 m
Anti-Atlas fold belt
Stratigraphy and structure (perched syncline). Sedimentology
(subsidence, basin inlling)
B9
28 00 58
×
10 49 01
200 m
Tindouf-Zag basin
Regional structure (cratonic basin versus fold belt)
Finally, several
mining prospects
can be cited along the
trails: these include the Fe-U-REE-bearing carbonatites
of the Adrar Souttouf massif, the Cu-Au veins of the Bas
Draa region, the oil and gas plays of the Tarfaya basin
and the Boukr
thickening of the Palaeozoic series by Michard et al.
(
2010
); (v) the understanding and calibration of the Lower
Cretaceous unconformity that implies a large, regional epi-
rogeny, which has been tentatively ascribed to Late Jurassic
asthenosphere uplift (Frizon de Lamotte et al.
2009
), and
a phosphorites. The hydrogeology of the
deep water resources is also presented in the Dakhla area.
To conclude, the Southern Provinces geotrails offer out-
standing pedagogic potentialities to the public. Let us also
emphasize that there are some poorly-known regions and
problems of geology that would be of interest to geologists;
these include: (i) dating of the varied dykes that crosscut the
Archaean gneisses; (ii) dating of the protoliths of the Mau-
ritanide nappes; (iii) dating the carbonatites that intrude
the latter nappes; (iv) the interpretation of the deep contrast
between the Awsard and Bas Draa transects of the Variscan
belt; this has been provisionally correlated with the northward
â
nally, (vi) the dating and calibration of the Mesozoic to
Recent exhumation and uplift of the continental basement east
of the Atlantic margin based on low-temperature thermo-
chronology, which would permit useful comparison with the
Anti-Atlas exhumation (Ruiz et al.
2011
; Oukassou et al.
2013
), as well as the discussion of the hypothetical role of the
recent asthenosphere uplift evidenced further in the north
(Missenard et al.
2006
).
However, the development of the proposed geotrails
faces several political and pedagogical challenges. Firstly, it
is necessary to make the regional Authorities sensitive to the
