Boletín de la Asociación Cartography
de Geógrafosand geomorphological
Españoles unitspágs.
N.º 54 - 2010, of Tetuan province, Morocco
417-419
I.S.S.N.: 0212-9426
CARTOGRAPHY AND GEOMORPHOLOGICAL UNITS
OF TETUAN PROVINCE, MOROCCO
José Gómez Zotano and María Elena Martín-Vivaldi Caballero
Departamento de Análisis Geográfico Regional y Geografía Física.
Instituto de Desarrollo Regional. Universidad de Granada.
The singularity of the Tetuan province is closely linked to its geological history. The
complexity of its landforms and the significant diversity of its sedimentary, igneous, and
metamorphic material are at the core of the varied geomorphologic landscape and of the
morphogenetic processes found in the region demonstrating an extraordinary parallelism
with the Betic Mountain Range.
From a purely physical point of view, the Tetuan province stands out as an area with
important natural assets relating to its lithologic, geomophologic, climatic, and floristic
originality that contribute substantially to the geodiversity and biodiversity of the Straight
of Gibraltar. The convergence of these diverse factors creates unique and valuable systems,
not only for its diversity, but also for the relatively constant degree of conservation not
commonly seen in the varied physical world of the Mediterranean region.
It is important to note, however, that humans have had a strong influence on the
geoecology of the region modifying the composition and dynamics of the natural elements
to meet their needs and acting to form original eco-cultural landscapes of great esthetic and
patrimonial worth. The biophysical complexity of the area, the ancientness of its people,
and the different moments throughout history of over and under- exploitation are the factors
behind the creation of these landscapes and the geomorphological jumble so characteristic
of the entire Mediterranean area. Nevertheless, although this dialectic population-territory
has existed throughout history, the intense growth in tourism along the Tetuan coastlines
in the last years has resulted in a virtual abandonment of many land-use activities that
were common up until today and converted many different rock formations, once beautiful
landmarks, into extraction sites for construction materials.
The latest transformations stemming from the establishment of quarries in the calcareous
Dorsal have deteriorated the beauty and the environment of these valuable rock landscapes
as a result of destroying their supporting land foundations. In addition to the deterioration of
the rock bases, the mining practices produce mutations in the structure and function of the
rock system causing its degradation and destabilization.
Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles N.º 54 - 2010 417
José Gómez Zotano and María Elena Martín-Vivaldi Caballero
In light of these changes, it is important to recognize that the diffusion of geomorphological
knowledge about an area such as this needs to be informed by detailed research of high
quality so as to add to the partial, and in some cases unknown, geomorphological description
of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The following work is a synthesis of the geomorphology of the Tetuan province. The
methodology made it possible to differentiate in a wide geomorphological context five large
landforms within which exist up to fifteen smaller units that make up the relief of this province
and facilitate a collective image of their structural and morphogenetic characteristics. These
landforms are the following:
1) Mountains and western hills: This category makes up the first and the largest of the
five different landform units. Situated on the western side of the province, it coincides with
lithostrategraphic units of Flysch. It is characterized as an undulating low to middle ground
level relief of shale marl peppered with sandstone outcroppings that generate more or less
delineated topographic projections. This type of landform is divided into two subunits;
undulating relief on marl and sandstone mountains and hills.
2) Central mountains: These landforms constitute the second largest geomorphologic unit
centered around a border of medium-altitude energetic waters of which Jbel Kelti, (1926 m)
stands out as the highest peak. The central mountains present a concentric lithology resulting
fundamentally from the erosive action on top of a complex deposit of shifting mantles where
the nucleus, more commonly called the chalky Dorsal, is made up of dolomite limestone
material. The Dorsal is characterized as a steep relief fragmented by a fluvial network in two
large groupings. On the other side, next to the ridge, another geomorphological landform
appears with less prominence because of a sandstone piedmont that links it with the Martil
river valley.
3) Coastal reliefs: This third largest geomorpholocical landform which shapes the
eastern periphery of the central mountains is composed of a series of materials that are more
vulnerable to erosion. It consists of a piedmont made up of small interconnected foothills
of metamorphic and sedimentary matter decreasing in size. Within this landform, one can
distinguish up to five lesser geomorphological units: (1) a gneissic hill with a steep slope that
juts out into the sea and forms the Black Cape (Cabo Negro); (2) a silica line of limestone hills
and hillocks with slopes no greater that 30% containing abundant gullies and abrupt taluses
at the point where they convergence with rivers and streams; (3) hills and hillocks of warped
schist that constitutes the largest of the five units; (4) sandstone and marl hills containing
traces of solifluction; and finally, (5) a landform unit composed of diverse individual hills. In
general, these coastal reliefs conform to the numerous streams and waterways that lead to the
Mediterranean Sea and in many instances, join with the sea producing significant cliff units
along the coastal strip.
4) Alluvial reliefs: This large heterogeneous landform unit is dispersed around provincial
waterways and is, in many cases, connected to the littoral zone. Quarternary material of
fluvial deposits predominates as well as an even morphology of fertile and alluvial plains and
bordering terraces. The extensive alluvial plain of the Martil River stands out as an example
of this landform.
5) Littoral strip: The thin littoral strip comprises the fifth largest landform unit. It is
a physical geographic unit made up of a collection of morphologies with one common
418 Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles N.º 54 - 2010
Cartography and geomorphological units of Tetuan province, Morocco
denominator: the littoral modeling of is formations. On a regional scale, it can be said that
the Rif coastline pertains to the «Pacific» type in that its route runs parallel to and supports
the central structure of the region with the mountainous chain forming an almost rectilinear
shape with the exception of a few projections. However, the Tetuan coastline presents a more
complex configuration. It arrived at its current morphology after experiencing a series of
different Pliocene and Quarternary changes with successive stages of erosion and depositing
of materials, neotectonic processes, and reorganization resulting from the hydographic
network. As a consequence of this recent geologic activity, either abrasion in the southern
half or the accumulation of materials in the northern half, a large part of the coastal strip of
the Tetuan region has undergone a regularization. Four geomorphological units have been
identified within this littoral strip: cliffs, beaches, dune fields, and tidal marshes and bogs.
This division of the relief constitutes the basis of the provincial geomorphological map,
which also includes other information related to the tectonics, the structural forms, the karstic
forms, and the morphogenetic modeling (fluvial, sloping, eolian and periglacial).
The selected methodology for this investigation of the described relief is based on
bibliographic reviews, laboratory work (photo analysis), and fieldwork. In order to
contextualize the geomorphology of the province, it was necessary to first study its regional
footprint and geological structure. In this initial work, a cursory description of each of the
territories, systems, units, and rock formations was done to facilitate the interpretation and
knowledge of the geomorphological mapping. Later, a brief paleographic description of the
area was performed along with an approximation of the distinct relief landforms that make
up the Tetuan province.
Finally, in the conclusions there is a call for information gathering of the region’s most
relevant geomorphological merits in order to contribute to a balanced approach to land use
practices. The Tetuan province depends on its outstanding geomorphological patrimony
which is very susceptible to the unfavorable exploitation of its natural resources. One
possibility to make the best use of this rich geomophological landscape is to develop low
impact tourism. This can occur in the Oued Laou Gorge, in the depressions and rises of the
Dorsal, around the tidal marshes and bogs, and around the extensive beaches and abrupt
cliffs that mark the coastline. Low impact tourism is compatible with the conservation of
the natural surroundings in that it does not indiscriminately exploit the area’s valuable geo-
resources.
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