FB4-09 Mridekh 21/12/09 08:30 Página 121

Estudios Geológicos, 65(2)

julio-diciembre 2009, 121-132
ISSN: 0367-0449
doi:10.3989/egeol.39742.052

Structure of the Kasbah fold zone (Agadir bay, Morocco).

Implications on the chronology of the recent tectonics
of the western High Atlas and on the seismic hazard
of the Agadir area
Estructura de la zona de plegamiento de Kasbah (Bahía de Agadir,
Marruecos). Implicaciones en la cronología de la tectónica reciente
del Alto Atlas occidental y la peligrosidad sísmica del área de Agadir
A. Mridekh1, F. Medina2, N. Mhammdi2, F. Samaka3, R. Bouatmani4

ABSTRACT

Detailed re-interpretation of the north-eastern segment of a profile realized across the Agadir bay
along a NE-SW trend and crosscutting the main structures, together with analysis of available isochron
maps, allowed us to retrace the geological history of the offshore western High Atlas. Two tectonostrati-
graphic sequences were distinguished: Unit II, which displays a simple structure, laying unconformably
on Unit I, with a more complex structure dominated by a reverse fault (F1) striking E-W with a dip to the
north. Correlation to boreholes Souss-1 and AGM-1 allowed us to assign Unit I to the Triassic – Palaeo-
gene and Unit II to the Miocene – Present. The NE fault block shows a ramp-flat fault plane (F2) with an
overlying SW-vergent fold that can be interpreted as a fault-bend fold. Three main stages were distin-
guished: (1) during the Cretaceous, F1 could have been a syndepositional normal fault with the NE block
moving downwards; (2) towards the beginning of the Tertiary, the displacement of plane F2 induced the
development of a fault-bend fold and erosion of the forelimb and hinge of the fold; displacement along
F2 was transferred to fault F1; (3) afterwards, during the Miocene, reverse motion of F1 deformed and
tilted the plane F2 and accentuated the folded structure. This evolution is typical for a frontal basin above
a fault-related fold. Evaluation of the thickness and bed depth differences shows that the largest growth
rate was recorded in Late Miocene times. Seismic activity recorded in the Agadir bay appears to be
clearly related to this fault zone, as inferred from focal mechanisms. Seismic moment evaluation sug-
gests that earthquakes of magnitude Mw≥6 are likely to occur, but could not be much larger because of
the fault segmentation geometry of the High Atlas Front.
Key words: Morocco, Agadir bay, High Atlas, Atlantic margin, petroleum exploration, compressional tectonics,
seismic hazard.

RESUMEN

A partir de una detallada reinterpretación del segmento nororiental de un perfil que corta las princi-
pales estructuras de la bahía de Agadir a lo largo de una directriz NE-SW, y un análisis de los mapas de
isocronas disponibles, se ha podido establecer la historia geológica de la costa del Alto Atlas occidental.
En primer lugar, se han distinguido dos secuencias tectonoestratigráficas: la Unidad II, que muestra
una estructura simple, y la Unidad I, de estructura más compleja dominada por una falla inversa (F1) de
dirección E-W vergente al norte, sobre la que se dispone la Unidad II de forma discordante. La corre-
lación con los sondeos Souss-1 y AGM-1 ha permitido asignar la Unidad I al Triásico-Paleógeno y la
Unidad II al Mioceno-Presente. El bloque NE de la falla muestra un plano de falla de tipo rampa-rellano
(F2) con un pliegue superpuesto vergente al SW que puede ser interpretado como un pliegue de flexión

1 Université Moulay Ismail, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Département de Géologie, Errachidia, Morocco.
2 Université Mohammed V – Agdal, Institut Scientifique, Département des Sciences de la Terre, B.P. 703 Agdal, Rabat, Morocco.
e-mail: [email protected]
3 ONHYM, pole Hydrocarbures, Av. Al Fadila, CYM, Rabat. Present address: Institut privé La Réserve, Mehdia (Kenitra), Morocco
4 GETECH Group plc, Elmete Hall, Elmet lane, Leeds LS8 2LJ, United Kingdom.
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122 A. Mridekh, F. Medina, N. Mhammdi, F. Samaka, R. Bouatmani

de falla. Respecto a su evolución temporal, se han distinguido tres estadios: 1) Durante el Cretácico, F1
pudo haber sido una falla normal sindeposicional, con el bloque NE desplazándose hacia abajo; 2) Al
comienzo del Terciario, el desplazamiento del plano F2 indujo el desarrollo de un pliegue de flexión de
falla y la posterior erosión de su flanco anterior y de la charnela (el desplazamiento a lo largo de F2 fue
transferido a F1); y 3) Durante el Mioceno el desplazamiento inverso de F1 deformó y basculó el plano
F2, acentuando la estructura de plegamiento. Esta evolución es típica de una cuenca frontal situada
sobre un plegamiento relacionado con fallas. La evaluación del espesor y las diferencias de profundidad
del lecho muestra que la mayor tasa de crecimiento se registró durante el Mioceno tardío.
La actividad sísmica registrada en la Bahía de Agadir parece estar claramente relacionada con esta
zona de fracturación, como se infiere de los mecanismos focales. La evaluación del momento sísmico
sugiere que los terremotos de magnitud Mw ≥ 6 son probables, pero no mayores, debido a la geometría
segmentada de la fracturación del frente del Alto Atlas.
Palabras clave: Marruecos, Bahía de Agadir, Alto Atlas, Margen atlántico, exploración petrolera, tectónica com-
presiva, peligrosidad sísmica.

Introduction ture of the Agadir bay. Interpretation of the struc-

tures related to this fold zone suggests that, con-
In the Moroccan High Atlas, the southernmost trary to the emerged part of the western High Atlas,
Alpine chain of the western Mediterranean, the deformation seems to have been continuous in Ter-
major uplift phase was recorded in Late Miocene – tiary times.
Pliocene times, as can be inferred from the thick In this paper, we expose new details on the geom-
conglomerate formations deposited at the chain bor- etry and chronology of the KFZ frontal fault, based
ders, which contain clasts derived from the uplifted on the re-interpretation of a selected seismic profile
relief (Duffaud, 1981, Petit et al., 1985, Medina, segment, and referring to fold kinematic constraints
1986, 1994, Fraissinet et al., 1988, Zouine, 1993, (e.g. Suppe, 1983; Suppe & Medwedeff, 1990;
Chellaï & Perriaux, 1996, Aït Hssaine, 2000). In the Wickham, 1995). These new observations are also
western High Atlas (fig. 1), which represents the useful for updating the chronology of the Atlasic
Atlantic termination of the Atlas chain (e.g. Hafid et compressional events in the area, and assessing the
al., 2000), the Palaeogene and pre-Moghrebian seismic hazard of the Agadir city, which has already
(Pliocene) Neogene cover near Agadir was in great been destroyed on February, 29th, 1960, by a large
part eroded, except in a few locations, where the earthquake (IMSK=X; M = 6), with a death toll of
Maastrichtian beds are overlain by the Early about 12,000 (see review in Cherkaoui et al., 1991).
Miocene “White Conglomerate” (Conglomérat
blanc), the probable Messinian, and the Pliocene /
Moghrebian formations (Allard et al., 1958; Duf- Structural setting
faud, 1962; Ambroggi, 1963; Weisrock, 1980;
Alonso-Gavilán et al., 2001). In the marine part, The studied profile (hereafter referred to as “Pro-
boreholes and seismic-reflection profiles performed file A”), trending NE-SW, is located in the Agadir
since the latest 1970’s (Flament-Lieffrig, 1979), and bay, west of the city (fig. 1). The formations in the
in particular during the last decade (Mridekh et al., bay are crosscut by a major, NE-SW striking verti-
2000; Samaka, 2001; Mridekh, 2002; Hafid et al., cal fault, called the “Marine” Tildi fault-corridor
2006), have provided valuable information on the (couloir de failles du Tildi; Mridekh, 2002), reach-
Cenozoic strata, because of their better preserva- ing 30 km in length (fig. 1, TD). This fault sepa-
tion, frequently with a large thickness. The numer- rates two structurally-contrasting blocks (Mather,
ous structures mapped (fig. 1) are related to haloki- 1980, Samaka, 2001, Mridekh, 2002):
nesis and syndepositional tectonics, mainly in a — The south-eastern block shows a simple
compressional setting. structure; isochron curves of the main units suggest
One of the most conspicuous structures in the a steady dip to the NW, in continuity with the south-
area is the Kasba Fold Zone (zone des plis de la ern limb of the Souss asymmetric syncline, the axis
Kasba; Mridekh et al., 2000; Mridekh, 2002; here- of which, trending ENE-WSW, is located south of
after abbreviated to KFZ), also called the “Elkasba Agadir (Mustaphi et al., 1997).
monocline” (flexure d’Elkasba) by Hafid et al. — The more complex north-western block is
(2006), which is the northernmost offshore struc- folded, faulted and crosscut by diapir structures.

Estudios Geol., 65(2), 121-132, julio-diciembre 2009. ISSN: 0367-0449. doi:10.3989/egeol.39742.052

FB4-09 Mridekh 21/12/09 08:30 Página 123

Structure of the Kasbah fold zone (Agadir bay, Morocco) 123

ference of salt (Mridekh et al., 2000). Genetically,

the development of this fold in a corner may also
be related to left-lateral strike-slip motion of the
Tildi Marine fault.
All these structures appear west of the trace of
the Tildi marine fault, which is injected with a Tri-
assic salt wall partly within a releasing stepover.
The much larger amount of shortening in the north-
western block indicates a sinistral strike-slip
motion, clearly transferring the front of the High
Atlas to the southwest.
Inland, the general structure is that of a ENE-
WSW asymmetric syncline, the “Souss syncline”,
bounded to the north by the highly segmented
southern sub-atlasic zone (“zone sub-atlasique
méridionale”; Duffaud, 1962; Ambroggi, 1963),
with ENE-WSW to WNW-ESE folds (Lgouz,
Tagragra and Aït Lamine), offset by the NE-SW
tear faults of oued Tildi and oued Lahouar (Duf-
faud, 1962), and by the recently suggested N-S
Ameskroud Fault (Sébrier et al., 2006). These
structures merge with a deep detachment fault
(Mustaphi et al., 1997) which is accommodated in
Fig. 1.—Map of recognized structures in the Agadir bay (modified the foreland within the Souss syncline, against the
from Mridekh 2000), location of the studied profile (dashed line),
and epicentres of earthquakes (9.5° – 10.05° W; 30.25° – 30.7° N) El Klea fault (El Maamar, 1988; Mustaphi, 1997;
for the period 1960-2007, and focal mechanism of the 1992, April, Mustaphi et al., 1997; fig. 1).
5th earthquake (after El Alami et al., 1992).

Stratigraphy and seismostratigraphy

Isochrons of the top of the Albian, striking NW-SE
near the coastal area, rapidly deepen to the south- Borehole data
west, reaching 2.5 sTWT (Mather, 1980, Samaka,
2001). The same can be observed for the top of the Among several boreholes performed in the
Turonian (Mridekh, 2002). Agadir bay, the nearest to the studied profile are
On the map and on the regional profile (figs 1 AGM-1, Souss-1 (fig. 1) and MARCAN-1.
and 2), the most important structures are, according The Souss-1 borehole (fig. 3) was used for tying
to the nomenclature of Mridekh et al. (2000), and the seismic units, with the exception of the shallow-
Mridekh (2002): est units of the Agadir offshore basin, which wedge
— The Kasba fold zone (KFZ), a structural high out towards the borehole.
oriented E-W to WNW-ESE, located in continuity The following units were penetrated, from top to
with the southwestern closure of the Aït Lamine base (in Mridekh, 2002):
anticline (Duffaud, 1962). — 45 m of Pliocene deposits.
— The Agadir and Massa basins, which are syn- — Fine sandstones (45-347.5), which yielded in
clinal depressions filled with Neogene to Quater- their upper part Globorotalia cf. plesiotumida Blow
nary, and minor Palaeocene deposits. These basins and G. merotumida Blow of Upper Miocene age.
are separated from each other by the E-W trending — Yellowish to grey shales, with interbedded
Massa Front. fine sandstones (347.5-850), assigned to the Middle
— The Massa Front, trending mainly E-W, Miocene.
becoming WNW-ESE to the west. This structure — Soft shales with silt intercalations (850-1,376 m)
corresponds to an anticline developed upon a blind dated as Lower Miocene.
thrust (Hafid et al., 2006), which can be interpreted — Shales and sands (1,376-1,723) assigned to
as a fault-propagation fold, with a probable inter- the Oligocene and to the Eocene; this dating is

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124 A. Mridekh, F. Medina, N. Mhammdi, F. Samaka, R. Bouatmani

Fig. 2.—Seismic section (top) and interpretation (bottom) of the structures across the offshore Agadir area (after Mridekh, 2000). Tr,
Triassic; J, Jurassic; K1, Early Cretaceous; K2a, Cenomanian and Turonian; K2b, Senonian; Mo1-1, Paleogene; Mo1-2, Lower
Miocene; Mo1-3, Middle Miocene; Mo1-4, Late Miocene; Mo1-5 et Mo1-6, Plio-Quaternary.

based on the presence of Late Oligocene foraminifers, — Beneath a major unconformity, shales with
and older palynomorphs such as1: Hystrichokolpo- intercalation of Upper Cenomanian (1,723-2,213 m)
ma cf. eisenackii Williams & Downie, 1966, and Lower Cenomanian (2,213-2,603) limestones.
Homotryblium plectilum Drugg & Loeblich Jr., In borehole AGM-1, the encountered formations
1967 (pre-Lower Oligocene) and Areoligera taulo- are, from top to base (fig. 3):
ma Eaton, 1976, Deflandrea phosphoritica Eise- — Sands, silts and shales (0-600 m) of Miocene
nack, 1938, and Isabelidinium pellucidum (Deflan- age (middle Miocene according to Mridekh, 2002).
dre & Cookson, 1955) Lentin & Williams, 1977 — Unconsolidated shales and siltstones (600-
(Eocene). 650 m) of Lutetian age.

1 Nomenclature of fossils corrected with respect to the original manuscript of Mridekh (2002).

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Structure of the Kasbah fold zone (Agadir bay, Morocco) 125

Fig. 3.—Lithology and age of recognized formations in boreholes

Souss-1 and AGM-1, compiled from commercial reports in
Mridekh (2000).
Fig. 4.—A) Detail of the north-easternmost part of profile A.
B) Interpretation (see text for the nomenclature of units).
— Siltsones, grey to brown shales and shales
intercalated with siltstones (650-1,950 m); this unit
is dated as Albian at the base, and mainly covers except at the top, where lenticular-shaped structures
the Cenomanian; the top is of Turonian to Maas- may reflect large channels filled with deposits. Cor-
trichtian age. relation to borehole data shows that Unit I corre-
— Limestones of Toarcian to Tithonian age sponds to the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and
(1,950-3,600 m). Paleogene strata, particularly to seismic units Tr to
Mo1-1 in the terminology of Mridekh et al. (2000)
Seismo- and tectono-stratigraphy and Tr to Pg of Hafid et al. (2006)). In this unit, it is
possible to observe regional-scale seismic horizons
For the purpose of our structural study, we distin- (Mridekh et al., 2000; Samaka, 2001; Mridekh,
guished two main units (fig. 4), designated in the 2002), emphasized by strong reflectors, as those of
following as Unit I and Unit II, separated by a major the tops of the Triassic, the Jurassic, the Albian and
unconformity (D on fig. 4), which corresponds to the Cenomanian units (fig. 2). The uppermost levels
the “Tertiary unconformity” of Samaka (2001). of Unit I are eroded and truncated by the major
Unit I consists of a set of high-amplitude reflec- angular unconformity D (fig. 2), against which they
tors, parallel to each other in most of the section terminate in a toplap pattern.

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126 A. Mridekh, F. Medina, N. Mhammdi, F. Samaka, R. Bouatmani

(fig. 5) reveals that the major fault plane (F1) has an

apparent dip to the NE, the value of which from the
depth section is 60°, with a short step between
6,000 and 7,000 m. We also interpreted a branch
dipping about 50°NE, merging upwards with the
main plane at ca. 4,000 m.
Within Unit I, this fault separates two blocks with
a different structural pattern:
— In the footwall, the structure is rather simple
with sub-horizontal reflectors, except at the proximi-
ty of fault plane F1, where they are tilted to the SW.
— The hanging wall shows a boxfold-like anti-
cline above a strong reflector (R) with a sinuous
trace that can be interpreted as a flat and ramp fault
surface (F2 in fig. 4B). In the northeastern limb,
reflectors above R are sub-parallel, whereas in the
southwestern limb, they terminate against R with
downlaps, suggesting thickening of strata towards
fault F1 in the SW (fig. 4A, B). The fold also shows
two couples of axial surfaces that delimit kink
bands (fig. 4B, dashed lines).
Unit II, which is nearly horizontal in the southwest
Fig. 5.—Depth section across profile A, showing the most con-
of the profile in fig. 4B, has a SW dip in its north-
spicuous surfaces. eastern part. This change in dip occurs after crossing
a synclinal axial surface dipping to the NE (fig. 4B).
The strata are arranged in a fan-like geometry above
the south-western limb of the anticline, with an apex
Above unconformity D, Unit II (fig. 4B) displays oriented to the NE. The higher part of the limb sug-
reflectors which are weaker than those of Unit I. gests a discrete axial surface located upon the eroded
The reflectors are more or less horizontal along the hinge of the underlying fold in Unit I.
seismic section, except at the proximity of the KFZ In detail, the fan geometry in Unit II is different
near the onshore part, where they are arranged into within the kink band of the limb between both axial
fans that are open to the SW (fig. 4A). Tying to surfaces: in sub-unit Mo1-3, the reflectors remain
boreholes allowed us to correlate Unit II with units parallel to each other and terminate in toplaps against
Mo1-2 to Mo1-6 of Mridekh et al. (2000) and Ng of d; above the latter, the reflectors are rather uniformly
Hafid et al. (2006). In detail, and according to the convergent towards the anticline axial surface.
nomenclature of Mridekh (2002), 4 sub-units can be
distinguished; they correspond to Mo1-2 (Early
Miocene), Mo1-3 (Middle Miocene), Mo1-4 (Late Interpretation, implications and discussion
Miocene) and Mo1-5 to Mo1-6 (Pliocene and Qua-
ternary). Mo1-4 and Mo1-5 are separated by the Kinematics of structures
minor unconformity d (fig. 4).
From the geometrical and kinematic point of view,
several models can be investigated to find a kinemat-
Structure ic pathway that could account for the observed struc-
ture: fault-propagation and fault-bend folding (Suppe
In the north-easternmost segment of the studied et al., 1997), trishear folding (Erslev, 1991), displace-
profile (fig. 2), the previous studies have interpreted ment-gradient folding (Wickham 1995), etc.
the steeply-dipping frontal fold or monocline as a Detailed observation of the growth fan leads to
flower structure (Mridekh et al., 2000; Mridekh, the following remarks:
2002; Hafid et al., 2006). However, detailed inter- — In sub-units Mo1-2 and Mo1-4, dips of the
pretation (fig. 4B) supported by a depth section reflectors and thickness of the sets decrease toward

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Structure of the Kasbah fold zone (Agadir bay, Morocco) 127

the hinge; the converging fan along the fold limb 2. By the Latest Cretaceous to Palaeogene, dis-
suggests deformation by limb rotation, probably placement along plane F2 led to the development of a
through displacement-gradient folding. fault-bend fold and subsequent erosion of its hinge
— In sub-unit Mo1-3, reflectors are parallel, (fig. 4). The lack of any comparable feature in the
with a constant dip, end in toplaps against uncon- footwall of F1 suggests that displacement on fault F2
formity d, and thin out above the anticline hinge, was transferred to plane F1. Consequently, in the limit
suggesting deformation by kink-band migration of the datings provided by ONAREP / ONHYM, the
related to a fault-propagation or fault-bend folding. first phase of compressional deformation in the area is
From these two observations, it appears that the of latest Cretaceous – Palaeocene age. However,
kinematic history of the KFZ is variable, resem- some ambiguity remains on its exact age, as the
bling in many details to other reported cases, such onshore data indicate that, along the southern side of
as those of the Sant Llorenç de Morunis anticline in the western High Atlas, the Cretaceous formations are
Spain (Suppe et al., 1997), the Lost Hills structure conformably overlain by the marine Conglomérat
(Wickham, 1995; his fig. 7) and especially the blanc, dated as Late Oligocene by Allard et al.
Santa Fe Springs segment of the Puente Hills blind (1958), and reassigned to the Early Miocene (Aqui-
thrust near Los Angeles (fig. 3 in Shaw et al., 2002). tanian / Burdigalian) by Cahuzac (1987), on the basis
However, retracing the detailed kinematic history is of paleontological and eustatic arguments.
beyond the scope of the present paper since it needs On a regional scale, the offshore area is located
a profile of much better quality and data. in the continuation of the southwestern closure of
the Aït Lamine anticline (fig. 1), which is kinemati-
cally a fault-bend fold (Mustaphi, 1997). According
Chronology of deformation to analysis of offshore data, the development of this
fold should be of Latest Cretaceous age, which is in
Although the uplift of the High Atlas chain started accordance with data from the northern border of
in latest Cretaceous times (Laville et al., 1977; Mon- the Atlas (Froitzheim, 1984).
baron, 1982; Froitzheim, 1984), the paroxysmal phase 3. Afterwards, during the Early Miocene, reverse
is generally of Late Miocene – Pliocene age, as can displacement on fault plane F1 deformed and tilted
be inferred from the deposition of thick conglomerat- plane F2, and accentuated the fold structure, as
ic formations at the chain borders (e.g. Petit et al., attested by the continuation of fault plane F1 by the
1985; Fraissinet et al., 1988; Zouine, 1993; Chellaï & synclinal axial surface. The relatively large thick-
Perriaux, 1996; Morel et al., 2000; Aït Hssaine, ness of the Neogene strata implies that the rate of
2000). With respect to the data collected from conti- deposition was higher than that of anticlinal growth.
nental (Allard et al., 1958; Ambroggi, 1963; Cahuzac, This compressional regime was constant since the
1989), and marine (Mridekh et al., 2000; Samaka, Early Miocene, and emphasized by the sedimentary
2001; Mridekh, 2002) areas, analysis of the north- fan within units Mo1-3 and Mo1-4. Inland, two
eastern segment of the studied profile leads to subdi- major events are recorded by the undifferentiated
vide the geological history of the fault zone into three Mio-Pliocene and Plio-Villafranchian foreland
major stages, two of which are major events. deposits; these two formations are separated by an
1. The increase in thickness of the Cretaceous unconformity reflecting a period of quiescence.
beds in the southwestern limb of the anticline in the
hanging wall does not seem to be related to haloki-
nesis, which should have led to the development of Growth rate
a symmetric fan in the other limb. This suggests
that either F1 was a syndepositional normal fault Measurement of the mean anticline growth can
during the Cretaceous, or that the onset of anticline be inferred from the depth difference of selected
growth was during the Late Cretaceous, with a fan reflectors of the growth fan (Table 1A). The mean
above the frontal part of the fold. Although there vertical rate is 0.128 mm/y for the whole Unit II,
are indications for the onset of compression at that considering an Early Miocene age (23 Ma) for its
time in the distal part of the offshore basin (Hafid, base. This rate remained steady in the Middle
1999; Mridekh, 2002), it appears more logical to Miocene (0.124 mm/y), but seems to have slowed
relate the fan to a syndepositional normal motion on down since the Late Miocene, falling to 0.04 mm/y
fault F1, because of the absence of a clear fold. (Table 1A).

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128 A. Mridekh, F. Medina, N. Mhammdi, F. Samaka, R. Bouatmani

Table 1A.—Mean vertical growth calculated from main interpreted surfaces

Depth of level (m)

Mean vertical growth
Surface SW NE Age Base (Ma) rate (mm.y–1)

D (Base Early Miocene) 3,323 360 23 0.128

d (Top Middle Miocene) 1,528 160 11 0.124

Top Late Miocene to Present 376 160 5.3 0.040

Table 1B.—Individual layer mean vertical growth calculated from main units

Thickness of unit
Mean vertical growth
Units SW NE Age base (Ma) Age top (Ma) rate (mm.y–1)

Pliocene-Present (Mo1-5) 376 160 5.3 0 0.040

Late Miocene (Mo1-4) 1152 (1528-376) 0 11 5.3 0.200

Mo1-2 + Mo1-3
(Early-Middle Miocene) 1795 (3323-1528) 200 (360-160) 23 11 0.133

Considering individual units (Table 1A) by levelling structures described from Los Angeles area (Shaw
the top surfaces upon the two fault blocks, the rates are & Suppe, 1996; Shaw et al., 2002).
0.133 mm/y for Mo1-2 + Mo1-3, under d, 0.2 mm/y The review of available data on seismicity
for Mo 1-4, and only 0.04 mm/y above the latter. (Cherkaoui, 1988; and online catalogue of earth-
The mean rate is comprised within the boundary quakes available at the CNR website http://sismo-
values of 0.1-0.2 mm/y uplift rate in the last 2-2.5 lag.cnrst.ma/) and on focal mechanisms (Medina &
Myr calculated for the Kasbah anticline by Cherkaoui, 1991; El Alami et al., 1992; Medina,
Meghraoui et al. (1998), but is much lower than 1994, 2008) shows that the events are few (Medina,
the slip rate calculated by Sébrier et al. (2006) for 1994). For the period 1960-2007, only 20 events
the Ameskroud fault (0.4 mm/y during the last 35 were inventoried in the Agadir area between 9.5° –
kyr) and Tagragra anticline (0.3 mm/y for the last 10.05° W; 30.25° – 30.7° N (Table 2). The list does
2-2.5 Myr). These differences are not surprising not take into account the numerous aftershocks of
because of the uncertainties on ages and tie points the 1960 earthquake, since the epicentres of the
between wells and seismic sections, and the use of events before 1992 are generally poorly constrained
different parameters (uplift, slip rate) by different because of the low number of seismological stations
authors. In addition, we have used a much larger in Morocco at that time. The largest shocks are
time span, probably with several episodes of fault those of February, 29th, 1960 (IMSK = X; M = 6),
quiescence. which destroyed the former city, and the events of
Whatever the type of calculation, it clearly April, 5th, 1992 (M = 4.7), and November, 16th 2003
appears that the main growth stage with the higher (M = 4.2), which were felt by the local population.
slip rates occurred during the Late Miocene, which Seven epicentres, among which those of the April,
is in accordance with the episode of deposition of 5 th, 1992 event and its aftershocks, are located
Mio-Pliocene conglomerates known inland. immediately north of KFZ trace (fig. 1), strongly
suggesting a possible relationship with the fault
zone. This is supported by the shallow depth of the
Implications on the seismic hazard foci, in the range of 2 km only. For the other shocks,
in the Agadir area the depths of foci are not available (Table 2). Other
epicentres are located close to fault systems and
The study of the KFZ structure also allowed us to diapir walls as shown in figure 1.
reassess the seismic hazard in the Agadir area, on Three focal mechanism solutions are available
the base of a comparison to similar seismogenic for these events, one of which is composite. The

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Structure of the Kasbah fold zone (Agadir bay, Morocco) 129

Table 2.—Epicentres of earthquakes in the bay of Agadir in the region 9.5° – 10.05° W; 30.25° –30.7° N
for the period 1960-2007

N° Date Time Latitude N Long. W Z M (I) Ref.

1 29-02-1960 23-40-14 30.45 9.62 1.4 5.9 CH88

2 12-09-1962 21-07-08 30.40 9.60 n IV CH88
3 16-09-1964 23-29-** 30.40 9.60 n III CH88
4 11-05-1967 20-14-06 30.50 9.50 n 2.7 CH88
5 31-03-1976 17-30-** 30.60 9.39 n IV CH88
6 08-10-1976 21-29-06 30.25 9.47 10 3.7 CH88
7 05-04-1992 21-16-38 30.41 9.74 0.2 4.7 EA92
8 05-04-1992 21-50-57 30.44 9.74 0 3.7 EA92
9 07-04-1992 13-35-24 30.41 9.74 2.0 3.5 EA92
10 12-04-1992 11-19-40 30.48 10.05 0.2 n EA92
11 13-04-1992 22-41-35 30.46 9.68 10.2 n EA92
12 14-04-1992 20-44-46 30.42 9.68 15.5 n EA92
13 29-06-1997 17-21-43 30.41 9.96 n 2.2 CNR
14 06-07-1999 21-15-54 30.27 9.90 n 2.7 CNR
15 12-11-1999 20-41-50 30.38 9.88 n 2.8 CNR
16 16-11-2003 13-08-16 30.08 9.81 n 4.2 CNR
17 29-01-2007 04-51-18 30.47 9.73 n 3.6 CNR
18 21-02-2007 13-24-47 30.25 9.66 n 3.7 CNR
19 03-06-2007 11-01-34 30.25 9.79 n 3.2 CNR
20 29-12-2007 03-10-43 30.41 9.67 n 3.5 CNR
References: CH88 = Cherkaoui (1988); EA92 = El Alami et al. (1992); CNR = Online catalogue of the Centre National de la
Recherche, Rabat (http://sismo-lag.cnrst.ma/). Aftershocks of the 1960 earthquake were omitted.

solutions for the February, 29th, 1960 event are very The moment magnitude Mw can be expressed by
different from one author to another, ranging from the equation of Hanks & Kanamori (1979):
reverse motion (Wickens & Hodgson, 1967 in
Mw = 2/3 log Mo – 10.7
Udias et al., 1989), to strike-slip faulting with a N-S
trending P axis (Girardin et al., 1977), or E-W There are also several empirical equations and
trending P axis (e.g. Medina & Cherkaoui, 1991). graphs set by Wells and Coppersmith (1994; their
Because of the low quality of recordings and the tables 2A-C), which express the relationships
poor azimutal distribution of the seismological sta- between the fault parameters. However, as we have
tions at that date (Stevens & Hodgson, 1968), it is two unknowns, the magnitude and the amount of
difficult to reach a reliable solution for this event, displacement, we just use Hanks and Kanamori’s
without digitizing and modelling available records. equation to assess the maximum magnitude for a
The focal mechanism solution for the main shock given mean displacement along the fault knowing
of April, 5th 1992 is thrust faulting along planes ori- the theoretical rupture area.
ented N250; 53° (with a sinistral component) and The size of the fault (at least 20 km length x 6 km
N141; 70° (with a dextral component). The com- width = 120 km2) suggests that, for a mean dis-
posite solution constructed for the weak aftershocks placement of about 1 m, earthquakes of magnitude
(El Alami et al., 1992), is also an almost-pure thrust Mw = 6.33 are likely to occur, as in the case of the
fault with both planes oriented E-W (N83; 53° and 1960 Agadir earthquake.
N296; 42°). These data suggest that the KFZ is a potential
The magnitude of any earthquake that should seismogenic structure that should be taken into
occur along the KFZ fault can be evaluated with the account in studies on seismic hazard, as for the Tildi
help of the seismic moment equation (e.g. Frohlisch (onshore and offshore segments), Lahouar, El Klea
& Apperson, 1992): and south-Tagragra faults (Sébrier et al., 2006).
However, it appears that larger earthquakes are not
Mo = µAs
likely to occur, because of the highly segmented
where A is the area of the fault, s the amount of dis- character of faults in the western part of the High
placement along the fault (in cm) and µ is Young’s Atlas Front, contrary to other well known structures,
modulus (taken to be 5.1011 dyn.cm–2). such as the San Andreas, Zagros or Taurus faults.

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130 A. Mridekh, F. Medina, N. Mhammdi, F. Samaka, R. Bouatmani

Regional extent of the South Atlas Front tern, i.e. as an arc within the Atlantic, with no shal-
low connection with the Canary Islands; however,
The structural pattern in the Agadir bay implies at a lithospheric scale, both domains may be ther-
that the front of the High Atlas is offset to the mally connected, but this needs collecting thermal
southwest by the Tildi marine fault. This is a cur- and gravimetric data along the Tarfaya segment.
rent feature in the southern border of the western
High Atlas, where several structures are offset by
transfer strike-slip faults (see above). Conclusions
Concerning the continuation of the Atlas toward
the Atlantic, the review of published papers indi- 1. Re-interpretation of the north-eastern segment
cates that the idea of a possible relationship of a profile realized across the Agadir bay along a
between the South Atlas faults (or Tizi n’Test fault NE-SW trend shows two tectono-stratigraphic
zone) and the Canary Islands was first exposed by sequences: Unit II, which displays a simple struc-
Flament-Lieffrig (1979). Nairn et al. (1980) also ture, laying unconformably on Unit I, with a com-
suggested a connection through the “Tarfaya fault” plex structure dominated by a NE-dipping reverse
because of the E-W trend of the Tarfaya margin. In fault (F1). Correlation with boreholes Souss-1 and
contrast, other authors such as Schminke (1982), AGM-1 allowed us to assign Unit I to the Triassic
did not find from petrological data any clear genetic to Palaeogene and Unit II to the Miocene-Present.
nor kinematic relationship between the two 2. The NE block shows a fault plane of the
domains. Later, Weijermars (1987) suggested conti- ramp–flat type (F2); and the overlying fold can be
nuity between the “South Atlas Fault” and the east- interpreted as a fault-bend fold, with a SW-vergence.
ern segment of the Hayes transform fault north of 3. Three stages were distinguished: (1) during
the Canary Islands; he considered this fault zone as the Cretaceous, F1 could have been a syndeposi-
the southern boundary of the Eurasian plate. How- tional normal fault with the NE block moving
ever, the more recent work of Mustaphi et al. (1997, downwards; (2) towards the end of the Cretaceous
their figure 4) showed that the inverted El Kléa Tri- or by the Palaeogene, the displacement of plane F2
assic fault, the southernmost segment of the Atlas induced the development of a fault-bend fold and to
Front inland, rotates from NE-SW to NNE-SSW erosion of the forelimb and hinge of the fold; dis-
and runs parallel to the coast without reaching the placement along F2 was transferred to fault F1; (3)
Canary Islands. At a larger scale, Sahabi et al. afterwards, during the Miocene, the reverse motion
(2004, their figure 6) also suggested continuity of F1 deformed and tilted the plane F2 and accentu-
between the Atlas Front and the eastern boundary of ates the folded structure. This evolution is typical
the Tarfaya basin, at least during the Triassic. In the for a frontal basin above a fault propagation fold;
offshore Tarfaya basin, the recent studies of Abou growth of the anticline occurred mainly during Late
Ali et al. (2004, 2005) only show NE-SW Mesozoic Miocene times.
normal faults without any signs of inversion. Final- 4. Seismic activity recorded in the Agadir bay
ly, the offshore/onshore studies of Hafid et al. appears to be clearly related to this fault zone, as
(2000, 2006) suggest that, in the oceanic area, the also inferred from focal mechanisms. Seismic
High Atlas folds rotate and terminate in a mainly moment evaluation suggests that earthquakes of
thin-skin, salt-driven, westward-thrusting pattern, magnitude Mw = 6 or more are likely to occur.
which we interpret as an escape pattern.
At depth, it is noteworthy that there is a lithospher-
ic thermal dome beneath the High and Middle Atlas ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
and the Rif, that reaches the Agadir area to the west
We would like to thank the Exploration Direction of
(Frizon de Lamotte et al., 2008). It would be very ONHYM (ex-ONAREP), pole Hydrocarbons, for facilitating
possible that this anomaly extends to the west and the seismic profiles. We also thank John S. Wickham (Univer-
then to the Canary Islands; however, the problem sity of Texas at Arlington) for his remarks. Hamid Slimani
cannot be assessed without a detailed geophysical (Institut Scientifique) kindly corrected the nomenclature of
study and especially by collecting geothermal data dynoflagellates. Michel Sébrier and Miguel Doblas reviews
helped improving the first draft of the manuscript. This study
along the Tarfaya margin (A. Rimi, pers. comm.). was in part conducted within the activities of the team “Moroc-
We conclude from the exposed data, that the can Meso-Cenozoic margins” at the Institut Scientifique, with
Atlas front may terminate in a Rif/Betics-like pat- partial funding from University Mohammed V – Agdal, Rabat.

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Structure of the Kasbah fold zone (Agadir bay, Morocco) 131

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d827-11 Erratum.qxd 5/7/11 12:00 Página 153

Estudios Geológicos, 67(1)

enero-junio 2011, 153
ISSN: 0367-0449

ERRATUM

Structure of the Kasbah fold zone (Agadir bay, Morocco).

Implications on the chronology of the recent tectonics of
the western High Atlas and on the seismic hazard of the
Agadir area. [ Estudios Geológicos, 2009, 65(2) 121-132]
A. Mridekh1, F. Medina2, N. Mhammdi2, F. Samaka3, R. Bouatmani4

In the original publication, in page 129, at the bottom of the left column, parameter μ was wrongly
defined as Young’s modulus in the formula:

Mo = μAs

In fact, it corresponds to the rigidity modulus defined by (μ=E/2(1+ν)) E being Young’s modulus and ν
being Poisson’s Ratio.
However, the following calculations remain correct, as the used values correspond to those of the
rigidity.

1 Université Moulay Ismail, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Département de Géologie, Errachidia, Morocco.
2 Université Mohammed V – Agdal, Institut Scientifique, Département des Sciences de la Terre, B.P. 703 Agdal, Rabat, Morocco. e-
mail: [email protected]
3 ONHYM, pole Hydrocarbures, Av. Al Fadila, CYM, Rabat. Present address: Institut privé La Réserve, Mehdia (Kenitra), Morocco.
4 GETECH Group plc, Elmete Hall, Elmet lane, Leeds LS8 2LJ, United Kingdom.