Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 6
Numidotherium
koholense Jaeger 1986 in lateral
and occlusal view
the stratigraphy of the deposits at various stages of
exploitation.
2. A palaeontology museum for the exhibition of the more
than 25 Ma of geologic history and faunal evolution
recorded in the Moroccan epicontinental sea at the north
margin of the Western African Craton (the
Canada) and Dinosaur National Monument (Utah, USA).
For example, in the USA there is a large phosphate mine in
Aurora, North Carolina (Potash Corporation) where the
company allows supervised collecting by groups on speci
c
days (C. Underwood, Professor at Birkbeck University of
London, pers. com.).
By the celebrity of their extraordinary fossils, the Oued
Zem and Sidi Chenane localities, within the Ouled Abdoun
basin, are good candidates for such a purpose.
“
Phosphates
'
”
of Salvan
1986
).
Following these worthwhile initiatives, it would be of
value to incorporate some phosphate deposit areas into a
geotourism trail. For this, it is thought that such areas should
be declared a Geopark which will
Sea
increase sustainable
development and contribute to the:
1. Conservation of the country
3.1
Moroccan Phosphates and the End-
Mesozoic Biological Crisis
s palaeontological heritage
by reducing the illegal sale of fossils.
2. Geotourism by fostering development of structures
within the local economy that will generate new jobs and
additional sources of income such as the construction of
hotels and restaurants, which would bene
'
Morocco is unique in the world, in having a series of fos-
siliferous marine phosphate deposits that span, continuously,
without sedimentary hiatus, from the end of the late Creta-
ceous (Maastrichtian) up to the base of the middle Eocene
(Lutetian). This time span incorporates approximately
25 Ma. It should, therefore, record the famous stratigraphic
boundary and biological crisis known as the K/Pg boundary,
dated at 65 Ma. The impact of this biological crisis can be
observed in the selachians
t residents
by promoting local services and employment, and by
encouraging the production of
local products
(e.g.
handicrafts).
3. Education by familiarizing the public with the palaeon-
tological heritage of its country. This endeavour will also
present an opportunity to bring students closer to Earth
Sciences, particularly students who have lost motivation
subsequent to the introduction of the LMD (License-
Master-Doctorate) system, which has restricted links
between Life and Earth sciences.
Indeed, it recently became dif
'
faunas, in which 96 % species
of sharks and rays did not survive the K/Pg boundary
(Noubhani
1993
,
2010
; Noubhani and Cappetta
1997
). Thus,
by crossing this stratigraphic boundary, tourists will see,
in situ, the replacement of extinct species by new species,
and also reptiles change at this boundary especially the
formidable Mosasaur that haunted all the world seas.
cult, if not impossible, to
have students dedicated to carrying out research in the
eld
of palaeontology. This challenge renders this discipline as
extinct as the fossils that are its subject of investigation.
Initiatives to construct geoparks would, certainly, stimulate
students and encourage them to pursue studies in the
4
Conclusion
eld of
The reknowned richness of fossils in Moroccan phosphate
deposits could be enhanced by development of cultural
activities such as geotourism, by the declaration of certain sites
within the mining areas as a geopark. Considering the current
focus of the Moroccan government, incorporating such a
palaeontology.
In the concept of a geopark, the planned museum of
palaeontology would incorporate fossiliferous mining areas
by drawing on experiments pioneered in other countries as a
model, such as the Royal Tyrrell Museum (Drumheller,
