Morocco is one of the most fascinating lands in the world from the point of view of its geological structure and evolution. Our knowledge on the geology of the country has been greatly improved during the last decades, based on numerous seismic profiles and boreholes, seismological analysis of focal mechanisms, seismic tomography, gravimetric/geodetic modelling and, on the other hand, based on a big National Program of Geological Mapping including modern geochemical analyses (trace elements) and reliable isotopic datings (39Ar-40Ar, U-Pb zircon, Sm-Nd, etc). Moreover, a number of academic studies have been performed in relation with the increasing number of Moroccan universities. Accordingly, there was an utmost urgency to undertake a new treatise of Moroccan geology which could substitute for the classical Eléments de géologie marocaine, published in 1976 by A. Michard in the Notes et Mémoires du Service géologique du Maroc (re-edited twice since 1976, with more than 6000 copies sold, and... translated in Japanese for engineers!). A new treatise has been prepared between April 2006 and July 2007 under the coordination of A. Michard, assisted by O. Saddiqi, and A. Chalouan, by a wide panel of authors from Morocco, France or Belgium among the best connoisseurs of the country. In order to emphasize the general interest of the book, we finally retain the following title: Continental Evolution: The Geology of Morocco. Structure, Stratigraphy, and Tectonics of the Africa-Atlantic-Mediterranean Triple junction. The editing and production of this book was supported by the following organisations: The Geological Society of France (SGF) The National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines of Morocco (ONHYM) The International Lithosphere Program (ILP)

Morocco is one of the most fascinating lands in the world from the point of view of its geological structure and evolution. Our knowledge on the geology of the country has been greatly improved during the last decades, based on numerous seismic profiles and boreholes, seismological analysis of focal mechanisms, seismic tomography, gravimetric/geodetic modelling and, on the other hand, based on a big National Program of Geological Mapping including modern geochemical analyses (trace elements) and reliable isotopic datings (39Ar-40Ar, U-Pb zircon, Sm-Nd, etc). Moreover, a number of academic studies have been performed in relation with the increasing number of Moroccan universities. Accordingly, there was an utmost urgency to undertake a new treatise of Moroccan geology which could substitute for the classical Eléments de géologie marocaine, published in 1976 by A. Michard in the Notes et Mémoires du Service géologique du Maroc (re-edited twice since 1976, with more than 6000 copies sold, and... translated in Japanese for engineers!). A new treatise has been prepared between April 2006 and July 2007 under the coordination of A. Michard, assisted by O. Saddiqi, and A. Chalouan, by a wide panel of authors from Morocco, France or Belgium among the best connoisseurs of the country. In order to emphasize the general interest of the book, we finally retain the following title: Continental Evolution: The Geology of Morocco. Structure, Stratigraphy, and Tectonics of the Africa-Atlantic-Mediterranean Triple junction. The editing and production of this book was supported by the following organisations: The Geological Society of France (SGF) The National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines of Morocco (ONHYM) The International Lithosphere Program (ILP)

A publication of the Mediterranean Consortium for the 32nd International Geological Congress

This book provides an updated insight into the overall tectonic evolution of the Western Mediterranean region and North Africa. The tectonic setting of the region reflects a long-lived and complex evolution, mainly related to the Alpine Orogeny. This inheritance is expressed by an intricate pattern of arc-shaped mountain chains, the Alps, the Betic-Rif Cordilleras and the Apennine-Maghrebian belt, whose southern branches mark the present limit between the African and Eurasian plates. The volume covers the Maghrebian chains in North Africa, from Tunisia to Morocco and the Western and Central Mediterranean, from Spain to Italy from the pre-orogenic phases (Palaeozoic-Mesozoic) to the post-collisional neotectonic and Quaternary development. It includes both original research papers and syntheses dealing with the aspects of structural, sedimentary, metamorphic, marine geology.

The African continent preserves a long geological record that covers almost 75% of Earth's history. The Pan-African orogeny (c. 600-500 Ma) brought together old continental kernels (West Africa, Congo, Kalahari and Tanzania) to form Gondwana and subsequently the supercontinent Pangaea by the late Palaeozoic. The break-up of Pangaea since the Jurassic and Cretaceous, primarily through opening of the Central Atlantic, Indian, and South Atlantic oceans, in combination with the complicated subduction history to the north, gradually shaped the African continent. This volume contains 18 contributions that discuss the geology of Africa from the Archaean to the present day.