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The Plio-Pleistocene evolution of the Southern Middle Atlas Fault Zone (SMAFZ) front of Morocco

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Abstract

The South Middle Atlas front constitutes a northeast-trending shear zone, located north of the Neogene Missour basin and east of the Taza Guercif basin. This paper analyses the Southern Middle Atlas Fault Zone (SMAFZ) deformation since the Pliocene. The set of structures observed suggests that reverse and thrust faulting along the central part of the SMAFZ are combined with left-lateral slip along N–S striking faults of its south-western termination and right-lateral faulting along E–NE striking faults of the east–northeast termination. Thrusts and oblique thrust-related anticlines of the two lateral ramps partly accommodate north-west directed motion of the African plate. The Thrusts probably resulted from rejuvenation of Jurassic normal faults; they were active during the Upper Miocene–Pliocene and the Pleistocene. The geometries of positive inversion structures and buttressing effects are clearly dependent on the geometry and sedimentology of the original basin-controlling fault system and on the presence of a décollement level. Field mapping is integrated with Landsat imagery and a digital elevation model to investigate the morphotectonic evolution of the south-eastern range front of the Middle Atlas. Geomorphological features provide significant information on the processes that govern lateral propagation of active anticlines. Both suggest that the deformation front may have been active since Pliocene.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the French Moroccan Cooperation Program (PAI, Action intégrée MA 219 ST 00). The authors are grateful to Dr. Stackebrandt and the anonymous reviewer for their comments that helped to refine the paper. The authors are also grateful to Dr. A.K. Shrivastava for helping in the translation of the manuscript and to Prof. P.L. Gibbard, Cambridge University, for his comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR-CNRS 6143 (M2C), Université de Caen-Basse Normandie, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14032, Caen Cedex, France

    E. Laville, B. Delcaillau & O. Dugué

  2. Département de Géologie, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Saiss-Fès, BP 2002 Fès, Morocco

    M. Charroud

  3. Département des Sciences de la Terre, Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V, BP 1014, Rabat, Morocco

    L. Ait Brahim

  4. Laboratoire de Géologie, Université du Maine, 72085, Le Mans Cedex 9, France

    G. Cattaneo

  5. Département de Géologie-Environnement, Université François Rabelais, 37200, Tours, France

    P. Deluca

  6. Centre régional de la Géologie d’Oujda, Oujda, Morocco

    A. Bouazza

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  1. E. Laville
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Correspondence to E. Laville.

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Laville, E., Delcaillau, B., Charroud, M. et al. The Plio-Pleistocene evolution of the Southern Middle Atlas Fault Zone (SMAFZ) front of Morocco. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 96, 497–515 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-006-0113-7

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