Field Photos from Morocco
(Paco Gomez)

Here are some photos taken during different visits to Morocco. Most of these are from field work conducted in the Middle Atlas region where I have been focussing my dissertation research. To read more about the research in the Middle Atlas, as well as the rest of Morocco, click here.

(click on an image for a larger version.)

Here's the obligatory camel photo on the High Plateau (Oran Meseta). The High Plateau has a mean elevation of about 1200 meters, and it is very flat. It covers a large area from eastern Morocco to eastern Algeria between the Tel Atlas (the Alpine collisional belt) and the High Atlas/Saharan Atlas. The western limit of the High Plateau is the Middle Atlas fold belt. 
 
 
This is a photo (facing northwest) of the southeastern front of the Middle Atlas. The Middle Atlas mountains have a mean elevation of of 2000 meters in the southern and central region and 2500 meters in the north. Some peaks in the north attain an elevation greater than 3600 meters. 
 
 
 
 

This is a typical sequence of the Lower Jurassic (Lias) strata from the central Middle Atlas. The base of the sequence consists of massive dolomite beds. This is followed by interbedded limestone and marl. In this photo, two thick layers of marl can be seen about two-thirds of the way up the hill (the red layer and the gray-green layer). This sequence is capped at the top by a very resistant, massive limestone.

Strange erosional landforms! This is an interesting outcrop of the Lower Jurassic (Middle Lias) layered limestone and marl, typical of the Middle Atlas. That's Weldon Beuchamp perched atop the rock.
 
 
 
 
 
 

This is a photo of the Ait Oufella thrust fault along the southeastern front of the central Middle Atlas. The fault is niceley exposed in a road cut at the village of Ait Oufella. Here, Triassic argillite and atlered basalt (the reddish brown rocks) are thrust over Late Neogene and Early Quaternary continental deposits (the tan rocks). The dip of the fault here is about 35 degrees.

About 15 km southwest of Ait Oufella, the frontal fault, we have found the fault to affect stream terraces. At this location, there are two well developed terraces about 10 meters and 3 meters above the present stream level. This photo depicts the upper terrace. The steep slope coincides with the Ait Oufella fault exposed in the canyon. The lower terrace (not shown here) is discontinuous across the fault zone.

Another view of the faulted stream terrace shown above. The Land Rover is parked at the top, and the people stand at the base of the scarp. The scarp is about 4 meters high.
 
 
 
 

Here's an example of normal faulting along the thrust front of the Middle Atlas. This photo (facing northeast) was taken near the village of Taouerda. About 10 meters of throw is depicted by the massive (lower Jurassic) limestone beds. Similar (but less prominent) normal faults also affect Pliocene and Quaternary to the right (east) of this photo. In this region, normal faults appear to be superficial structures.

This is a photo of Weldon Beuchamp next to a small normal fault surface in the Tabular Middle Atlas. At this location, Quaternary travertine is faulted against Lower Jurassic carbonates. Normal faults are frequently observed in the Tabular Middle Atlas (west of the fold belt) and appear to be related to extensional steps and bends in strike-slip faults.
 
 
 

The Ziz Gorge of the eastern High Atlas. This part of the Atlas is very dry with the exception of the oases such as that found here. The exposure of the Jurrassic carbonates is exceptional. This photo was taken during my first visit to Morocco in the late Spring of 1994. Weldon (second from the right) is with some Moroccan colleagues including (from left) Ahmed Er-Raji (graduate student from University Mohammed V), Mohammed Zebrog (driver from the Ministry of Mines and Energy), Mohammed (driver from ONAREP), and Mohammed El-Algi (geologist from ONAREP).
 

In the High Atlas of Beni Mellal, one finds the Cascade d'Ouzoud. This scenic location often appears on postcards and tourist brochures from Morocco. This photo was taken during the dry season, but in the early and late Spring, the discharge is much greater.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

return to main page.

page last modified January 23, 1998.