Sedimentation and tectonic controls in the Early Jurassic Central High Atlas trough, Morocco

Abstract

Research Article| August 01, 1978 Sedimentation and tectonic controls in the Early Jurassic Central High Atlas trough, Morocco CHRISTOPHER W. LEE; CHRISTOPHER W. LEE 1Department of Geology and Oceanography, University College of Swansea, Swansea SA28PP, Wales, Great Britain Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar CHRISTOPHER J. BURGESS CHRISTOPHER J. BURGESS 1Department of Geology and Oceanography, University College of Swansea, Swansea SA28PP, Wales, Great Britain2Present address: Department of Geology, Victoria University of Wellington, Private Bag, Wellington, New Zealand Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information CHRISTOPHER W. LEE 1Department of Geology and Oceanography, University College of Swansea, Swansea SA28PP, Wales, Great Britain CHRISTOPHER J. BURGESS 1Department of Geology and Oceanography, University College of Swansea, Swansea SA28PP, Wales, Great Britain2Present address: Department of Geology, Victoria University of Wellington, Private Bag, Wellington, New Zealand Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1978) 89 (8): 1199–1204. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1978)89<1199:SATCIT>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation CHRISTOPHER W. LEE, CHRISTOPHER J. BURGESS; Sedimentation and tectonic controls in the Early Jurassic Central High Atlas trough, Morocco. GSA Bulletin 1978;; 89 (8): 1199–1204. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1978)89<1199:SATCIT>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Stratigraphical and sedimentological studies of Lower Jurassic deposits at the western end of the Central High Atlas Mountains, Morocco, has led to a reappraisal of the tectonic significance of this linear feature during the critical period of the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. Lower Jurassic deposits south and east of Marrakech represent an extremely shallow water and supratidal marine carbonate accumulation that formed in fault-controlled basins at the western end of the trough. The basins were aligned east-northeast and the character and distribution of the deposits strongly suggests that no connection with the basins of the Western High Atlas existed. To the east, sediments indicate more open conditions, but no evidence of bathyal or abyssal conditions was seen.Sedimentation was probably structurally controlled by vertical tensional and compressional movements as the result of reorientation of stress between major strike-slip faults. Volcanic flows and shallow intrusions, which occur at the base of the Jurassic sequence, and associated carbonate and clastic sediments show no evidence of being part of ophiolite sequences; they more closely resemble extrusive basalt sequences associated with rifting as seen in the Triassic of the Eastern United States and the Tertiary of Northwest Europe. Evidence from this area suggests that the High Atlas seaway represented only an arm of the Tethyan Ocean, which extended along a long-standing zone of crustal weakness. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.