Essai de caractérisation bio et lithostratigraphique des séquences sédimentaires dans le Crétacé moyen de la région d'Imi N'Tanout (Haut Atlas occidental, Maroc)

An attempt at a bio and lithostratigraphical characterization of sedimentary sequences in the Mid-Cretaceous of Imi N'Tanout area (Western High Atlas, Morocco) The mid-Cretaceous deposits of Imi N'Tanout area (Western High Atlas) belong to the northern edge of the Agadir-Essaouira basin. They display restricted shelf margin environments during the Vraconian - Cenomanian ages, and open marine influences in the Turonian. These deposits are generally divided into three formations wich respectively, from bottom to top, are : -the Kechoula dolomitic Carbonates formation linked to Vraconian ; -the Aït Lamine Marls formation attributed to Cenomanian ; -the Casbah Agadir Carbonates formation, Turonian in age. A review of them, as well as the stratigraphical or sedimentological point of view, has been carried out and has permitted us : -to discover a few micropaleontological markers showing the proposed ages ; -to carry out classic and detailed sequence analysis ; -to recognize the existence of major discontinuities of regional extension at least. These new elements permit us to suggest a first attempt at interpretation in terms of the stratigraphie sequence. It seems possible to divide the considered period into seven depositional sequences. The first (SD1) would be mixed-up with the Vraconian Kechoula formation ; the other six (SD2 to SD7) are in the Cenomano-Turonian. If, in spite of stratigraphical imprécisions, these seven sequences are connected by number with the third order cycles of the UZA-2 supercycle of HAQ and cd. chart (1987), the interpretation of the system tracts, especially during the Vraconian -Cenomanian, remain particulary difficult.Le Crétacé moyen (Albien supérieur à Turonien) de la région d'imi N'Tanout est classiquement subdivisé en trois formations. Leur analyse tant strati graphique que sédimentologique permet de proposer un premier essai d'interprétation en terme de stratigraphie séquentielle. Il paraît possible de reconnaître dans l'intervalle de temps considéré. sept séquences de dépôt. La première (SD1) se confondrait avec la formation vraconienne du Kechoula ; les six autres (SD2 à SD7) s'étagent dans le Cénomano-Turonien. Si, aux imprécisions stratigraphiques près, ces sept séquences sont corrélables en nombre aux cycles de 3ème ordre du supercycle UZA-2 du diagramme de HAQ et al., (1987), l'interprétation des cortèges sédimentaires, surtout dans l'intervalle Vraconien-Cénomanien reste particulièrement délicate.Ettachfini El Mostafa, El Kamali Nezha, Bilotte Michel. Essai de caractérisation bio et lithostratigraphique des séquences sédimentaires dans le Crétacé moyen de la région d'Imi N'Tanout (Haut Atlas occidental, Maroc). In: Colloque franco-marocain de Géologie, Strasbourg, 24-26 mai 1989. Vol. II : Cycle alpin (fin). Quaternaire. Strasbourg : Institut de Géologie – Université Louis-Pasteur, 1989. pp. 71-81. (Sciences Géologiques. Mémoire, 84

Essai de caractérisation bio et lithostratigraphique des séquences sédimentaires dans le Crétacé moyen de la région d'Imi N'Tanout (Haut Atlas occidental, Maroc)

An attempt at a bio and lithostratigraphical characterization of sedimentary sequences in the Mid-Cretaceous of Imi N'Tanout area (Western High Atlas, Morocco) The mid-Cretaceous deposits of Imi N'Tanout area (Western High Atlas) belong to the northern edge of the Agadir-Essaouira basin. They display restricted shelf margin environments during the Vraconian - Cenomanian ages, and open marine influences in the Turonian. These deposits are generally divided into three formations wich respectively, from bottom to top, are : -the Kechoula dolomitic Carbonates formation linked to Vraconian ; -the Aït Lamine Marls formation attributed to Cenomanian ; -the Casbah Agadir Carbonates formation, Turonian in age. A review of them, as well as the stratigraphical or sedimentological point of view, has been carried out and has permitted us : -to discover a few micropaleontological markers showing the proposed ages ; -to carry out classic and detailed sequence analysis ; -to recognize the existence of major discontinuities of regional extension at least. These new elements permit us to suggest a first attempt at interpretation in terms of the stratigraphie sequence. It seems possible to divide the considered period into seven depositional sequences. The first (SD1) would be mixed-up with the Vraconian Kechoula formation ; the other six (SD2 to SD7) are in the Cenomano-Turonian. If, in spite of stratigraphical imprécisions, these seven sequences are connected by number with the third order cycles of the UZA-2 supercycle of HAQ and cd. chart (1987), the interpretation of the system tracts, especially during the Vraconian -Cenomanian, remain particulary difficult.Le Crétacé moyen (Albien supérieur à Turonien) de la région d'imi N'Tanout est classiquement subdivisé en trois formations. Leur analyse tant strati graphique que sédimentologique permet de proposer un premier essai d'interprétation en terme de stratigraphie séquentielle. Il paraît possible de reconnaître dans l'intervalle de temps considéré. sept séquences de dépôt. La première (SD1) se confondrait avec la formation vraconienne du Kechoula ; les six autres (SD2 à SD7) s'étagent dans le Cénomano-Turonien. Si, aux imprécisions stratigraphiques près, ces sept séquences sont corrélables en nombre aux cycles de 3ème ordre du supercycle UZA-2 du diagramme de HAQ et al., (1987), l'interprétation des cortèges sédimentaires, surtout dans l'intervalle Vraconien-Cénomanien reste particulièrement délicate.Ettachfini El Mostafa, El Kamali Nezha, Bilotte Michel. Essai de caractérisation bio et lithostratigraphique des séquences sédimentaires dans le Crétacé moyen de la région d'Imi N'Tanout (Haut Atlas occidental, Maroc). In: Colloque franco-marocain de Géologie, Strasbourg, 24-26 mai 1989. Vol. II : Cycle alpin (fin). Quaternaire. Strasbourg : Institut de Géologie – Université Louis-Pasteur, 1989. pp. 71-81. (Sciences Géologiques. Mémoire, 84

Rock Art Conservation and Geotourism: A practical example from Foum Chenna engravings site, Morocco

The rock engravings, the subject of this article, are artistic representations made by people from cultural communities who no longer exist. The rock art was a way of expressing their thoughts, culture and beliefs, before the invention of writing. The engravings represent an archive of an ancient civilization which developed over thousands of years throughout North Africa, from the Atlantic to Egypt and from the Atlas Mountains to the Sahel. Morocco has more than 300 listed rock art sites, scattered throughout the country. Foum Chenna is a major site in the Anti-Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco. The engravings were predominantly made by pecking out images of human figures, animals and patterns, and the area today is the center of interest for the recently-formed Association of Rock Art Heritage of Southern Morocco, based in Zagora. Foum Chenna is a place of primary importance with more than 800 schematic engravings made using the pecked technique, a characteristic of this period. The majority of engravings which depict riders associated with zoomorphic and anthropomorphic representations, also, importantly, the numerous rock inscriptions recounting a scriptural tradition and reflecting the historical beginnings of Libyan writing, were today revitalized to transcribe the Tamazight language. The need to study and protect this heritage should not be limited to the preserve of just a few specialists. Knowledge of it can be used, with care, for sustainable human development. The rock art and other featuresmay make the region worthy of international recognition by UNESCO. In this paper, we look at Foum Chenna site from the perspective of geotourism and importance of the site for geoeducation, and the value of Foum Chenna site as geosite. Besides, soils, considered as some of the extraordinary manifestations of the culture of the Foum Chenna, are of huge scientific importance