Inventory and Assessment of Geosites and Geodiversity Sites of the Ait Attab Syncline (M’goun Unesco Geopark, Morocco) to Stimulate Geoconservation, Geotourism and Sustainable Development

Elhassan Louz; Jamila Rais; Ahmed Barakat; Abdellah Ait Barka; Samir Nadem

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Inventory and Assessment of Geosites and Geodiversity Sites of the Ait Attab Syncline (M’goun Unesco Geopark, Morocco) to Stimulate Geoconservation, Geotourism and Sustainable Development

| 07 sept. 2023

Quaestiones Geographicae

Édition 42 (2023): Edition 3 (September 2023)

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Publié en ligne: 07 sept. 2023

Pages: 115 - 143

Reçu: 23 déc. 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/quageo-2023-0027

© 2023 Elhassan Louz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Geographical location of Ait Attab syncline (study area).

a) Geological map of Ait Attab syncline (Extract from the geological map of Morocco at 1/100 000, Afourer sheet, modified); b) Simplified lithostratigraphic log of study area (Haddoumi, 2010 modified): Ceno-Tur: Cenomano-Turonian; Baj-Bat : Bajocian-Bathonian; Toar-Aale: Toarcian-Aalenian.

Mapping of geotrails with inventoried geosites and geodiversity sites as well as the tourist infrastructure of the Ait Attab syncline.

a) Overlap of the Jurassic on the Cretaceous; b) N’Ait Belhaj Community Granary; c) tectonic deformations (fold and faults) which affected the Lower Lias.

Northern panoramic view of the Attab syncline.

a-b) Lower limit of the basalt flow B2. Fm: formation; c) Basalt B2 with porphyry texture. Ol: olivine; Pl: plagioclase ; Op: ferrotinasated oxide (Guezzal 2017).

Simplified geological map of the Ait Attab syncline (Rolley, 1978); b) red layers in the northern flank of the syncline; c) panoramic view of the red layers separated by the B1 and B2 magmatic events.

a) Ruiniform reliefs of Ben Cherrou formation; b) Bioclastic limestone with gastropods and lamellibranchs; c) Bioclastic limestone with ammonite fossils.

a) Panoramic view of the dolomitic limestone of Iouaridene formation containing sauropod dinosaur footprints; b–c) Sauropod dinosaur footprints.

Google earth image (a) and photo (b) showing the Cretaceous cuestas of Ait Attab syncline.

a) Karstic cliff of Ighir-n-Oumejjad; b) Tectonic deformations of Jbel Hassan mountain; c) Panoramic view of Oued El Abid from the ancient Caida of Taounza; d) Conglomerate terraces of Oued El Abid ; e) The gorges of Ait Ouabit ; f) Panoramic view of the eroded sandstones of Jbel Iloghman with oblique stratifications; g) Bioclastic marl of the Ait Tafelt formation; h) Bioclastic ammonite limestone of the Bine El Ouidane formation BIII; i) Cave of cats (Ghiran Lemchach).

a) The adobe granary of El Had douar; b) The fortified granary of Ait Sri; c) The gate of the Ismaili kasbah of Seddat douar; d) Moulay Aissa Ben Driss’s Mosaule; e) The old Jewish quarter (Mellah); f) The folkloric singing group (Abidat Rma); g) The Tborida (Fantasia) team participating in a compitition.

Some methodologies used to evaluate geoheritage sites.

Publication	Scientific	Additional				Use	Use and management	Use and protection
Publication	Scientific	Cultural	Economic	Aesthetic	Educational	Use	Use and management	Use and protection
Grandgirard (1999)	*
Bruschi and Cendréro (2005)	*		*				*
Serrano and González-Trueba (2005)	*	*					*
Coratza and Giusti (2005)	*					*
Pralong (2006)	*	*	*	*		*
Zouros (2005, 2007)	*							*
Reynard et al. (2017)	*	*	*	*	*		*
Pereira et al. (2007)	*	*		*	*	*		*
Comanescu et al. (2011)	*	*	*	*
Pereira and Pereira (2010)	*	*		*	*			*
Bosson and Reynard (2012)	*			*		*
Comanescu et al. (2012)	*	*	*	*			*
Del Monte et al. (2013)	*	*		*	*	*		*
Grangier (2013)	*	*		*	*			*
Stevanovic (2015)	*	*		*	*			*
Reynard et al. (2016)	*	*		*	*		*
Kubalíková and Kirchner (2016)	*		*					*
Pica et al. (2017)	*	*		*		*
Niculiţă and Mărgărint (2017)	*	*	*	*	*

Assessment criteria used to evaluate geosites and geodiversity sites (Brilha 2016).

Scientific value (SV)		Potential value
Scientific value (SV)		Educational (PEU)	Touristic (PTU)
Criteria	Weights [%]	Weights [%]	Criteria		Weights [%]
Representativeness (Rp)	30	10	Vulnerability (V)		10
Key locality (Kl)	20	10	Accessibility (A)		10
Scientific knowledge (Sn)	5	5	Use limit (Ul)		5
Integrity (I)	15	10	Security (S)		10
Geological diversity (Gd)	5	5	Logistics (L)		5
Rarity (R)	15	5	Density of populations (Dp)		5
Use limit (Ul)	10	5	Association with other values (Av)		5
		5	Scenery (Se)		15
Degradation risks (DR)		5	Uniqueness (U)		10
Criteria	Weights [%]	10	Observation conditions (Oc)		5
Deterioration of geological elements (Dg)	35	20	Didactic potential (Dp)	Interpretive potential (Ip)	10
Proximity activities cause degradation (Pa)	20	10	Geological diversity (Gd)	Economic level (El)	5
Legal protection (Lp)	20			Proximity to recreational areas (Pa)	5
Accessibility (Ac)	15
Density of populations (Dp)	10

Quantitative assessment of the scientific value (SV) of the selected geosites and geodiversity sites in the Ait Attab syncline.

Code	Name	Criteria of scientific value							Total
Code	Name	Representa-tiveness	Key locality	Scientific knowledge	Integrity	Geological diversity	Rarity	Use limit	Total
Stra01	Panoramic view of overturned bar of Iferghas	4	2	4	2	2	4	4	320
Kar02	Karst cliff of Ighir-n-Oumejjad	2	1	1	4	1	2	4	220
Stra03	Panoramic view of the Ait Attab syncline	4	2	4	4	2	4	4	350
Stru04	The tectonic deformations of Jbel Hassan	4	1	1	4	4	2	4	295
Pal05	The ruiniform limestones with ammonite of the Ben Cherrou Formation	4	2	2	4	4	2	4	320
Geom06	Panoramic view of the Cretaceous cuestas	4	1	2	4	4	2	4	300
Flu07	The bad land of Ait Ouabit	2	1	2	2	1	2	4	195
Geom08	Gorges of Ait Ouabit	4	1	2	4	1	2	4	285
Stra9	Conglomerate terraces of Oued El Abid	4	1	2	4	2	2	4	290
Pal10	The footprints of sauropod dinosaurs of Ayt Bouiqban	4	1	1	4	4	4	4	325
Stra11	Lower limit of the basaltic flow B2	4	2	4	4	2	2	4	320
Stra12	Jurassic-Cretaceous unconformity and volcanic activities	4	1	1	4	4	4	4	325
Pal13	Bioclastic limestone with ammonite of the Bine El Ouidane BIII Formation	4	1	1	4	1	2	4	280
Flu14	Panoramic view of Oued El Abid from the old Caida of Taounza	2	1	1	2	2	2	4	195
Spel15	Caves of cats and the spring of Tisqui	4	2	1	2	2	2	4	275
Pal16	Bioclastic marly limestone of Ait Tafelt Formation	2	2	4	4	4	2	4	270
Geom17	Eroded sandstone of Jbel Ilaghmane	2	1	1	4	4	4	4	265
Stra18	Panoramic view of the red formations separated by the BI and BII magmatic events	4	2	4	2	4	3	4	315
Kar19	Ruiniform reliefs of Jbel Al Maqçoura	2	0	0	4	2	2	4	200

Brief characterisation of geotours, geosites (GS) and geodiversity (GD) sites of the Ait Attab syncline.

Geotrail	No	Name	Code	Coordinates	GSGD	Scientific interests
Beni Ayyat – Ayt Bouyqben	1	Panoramic view of overturned bar of Iferghas	Stra01	X = 387858Y = 179058	GS	Stratigraphic, structural
	2	Karst cliff of Ighir-n-Oumejjad	Kar02	X = 384756Y = 177043	GD	Karstic, geomorphological
	3	Panoramic view of the Ait Attab syncline	Stra03	X = 382007Y =174573	GS	Stratigraphic, structural, scenic
	4	The tectonic deformations of Jbel Hassan	Stru04	X = 382025Y = 173773	GD	Structural
	5	The ruiniform limestones with ammonite of the Ben Cherrou Formation	Pal05	X = 377397Y = 186281	GS	Palaeontological, karstic
	6	Panoramic view of the Cretaceous cuestas	Geom06	X = 778875Y = 166099	GS	Geomorphological
	7	The bad land of Ait Ouabit	Flu07	X = 379108Y = 165506	GD	Fluvial
	8	Gorges of Ait Ouabit	Geom08	X = 379104Y = 163634	GD	Geomorphological
	9	Conglomerate terraces of Oued El Abid	Stra9	X = 381055Y = 165129	GD	Stratigraphic, fluvial
	10	The footprints of sauropod dinosaurs of Ayt Bouiqban	Pal10	X = 382226Y = 164873	GS	Palaeontological, scenic
	11	Lower limit of the basaltic flow B2	Stra11	X = 377188Y = 166975	GS	Stratigraphic, magmatic
Afourer – Taounza	12	Jurassic-Cretaceous unconformity and volcanic activities	Stra12	X = 391673Y = 170160	GS	Stratigraphic, magmatic
	13	Bioclastic limestone with ammonite of the Bine El Ouidane BIII Formation	Pal13	X = 391105Y = 169708	GD	Palaeontological
	14	Panoramic view of Oued El Abid from the old Caida of Taounza	Flu14	X = 387128Y = 166982	GD	Fluvial, scenic
Tisqi – Ouled Ayyad	15	Caves of cats and the spring of Tisqui	Spel15	X = 371295Y =168639	GD	Speleological
	16	Bioclastic marly limestone of Ait Tafelt Formation	Pal16	X = 375908Y = 170508	GD	Palaeontological
	17	Eroded sandstone of Jbel Ilaghmane	Geom17	X = 374969Y = 171017	GD	Geomorphological, scenic
	18	Panoramic view of the red formations separated by the BI and BII magmatic events	Stra18	X =374470Y = 371140	GS	Stratigraphic
	19	Ruiniform reliefs of Jbel Al Maqçoura	Kar19	X = 369907Y = 174781	GD	Karstic

Quantitative assessment of potential educational uses of selected geosites and geodiversity sites in the Ait Attab syncline.

Code	Name	Criteria for potential educational use												Total
Code	Name	Vulnerability	Accessibility	Use limit	Security	Logistics	Density of populations	Association with other values	Scenery	Uniqueness	Observation conditions	Didactic potential	Geological diversity	Total
Stra01	Panoramic view of overturned bar of Iferghas	2	4	4	4	3	1	2	4	2	4	4	3	330
Kar02	Karst cliff of Ighir-n-Oumejjad	4	4	4	3	3	1	2	3	3	4	4	2	330
Stra03	Panoramic view of the Ait Attab syncline	4	4	4	2	3	1	2	4	3	4	4	4	345
Stru04	The tectonic deformations of Jbel Hassan	2	4	4	4	3	1	2	1	2	4	4	2	305
Pal05	The ruiniform limestones with ammonite of the Ben Cherrou Formation	3	3	4	2	3	1	3	4	3	4	4	2	310
GeomO6	Panoramic view of the Cretaceous cuestas	4	3	4	2	4	1	4	2	3	4	4	2	320
Flu07	The bad land of Ait Ouabit	3	4	4	3	3	1	4	1	2	4	3	3	305
Geom08	Gorges of Ait Ouabit	4	4	4	3	3	1	2	3	2	4	4	2	325
Stra9	Conglomerate terraces of Oued El Abid	4	2	4	2	3	1	4	2	2	4	4	3	310
Pal10	The footprints of sauropod dinosaurs of Ayt Bouiqban	4	2	4	2	3	1	3	0	4	4	4	3	305
Stra11	Lower limit of the basaltic flow B2	4	3	4	3	3	1	3	3	3	4	4	3	335
Stra12	Jurassic-Cretaceous unconformity and volcanic activities	4	4	4	2	3	1	3	3	2	4	4	3	330
Pal13	Bioclastic limestone with ammonite of the Bine El Ouidane BIII Formation	4	4	4	3	3	1	3	3	2	3	3	2	300
Flu14	Panoramic view of Oued El Abid from the old Caida of Taounza	4	3	3	4	3	1	3	4	2	4	2	2	290
Spel15	Caves of cats and the spring of Tisqui	3	4	4	3	3	1	3	3	3	4	2	2	285
Pal16	Bioclastic marly limestone of Ait Tafelt Formation	2	4	4	4	3	1	3	1	2	4	4	2	310
Geom17	Eroded sandstone of Jbel Ilaghmane	4	3	4	2	3	1	2	2	2	4	4	4	320
Stra18	Panoramic view of the red formations separated by the BI and BII magmatic events	4	4	4	3	3	1	3	3	3	4	4	3	345
Kar19	Ruiniform reliefs of Jbel Al Maqçoura	4	4	4	3	3	1	3	4	1	4	2	2	290

Quantitative assessment of potential tourist use of selected geosites and geodiversity sites in the Ait Attab syncline.

Code	Name	Criteria for tourism potential use													Total
Code	Name	Vulnerability	Accessibility	Use limit	Security	Logistics	Density of populations	Association with other values	Scenery	Uniqueness	Observation conditions	Interpretive potential	Economic level	Proximity to recreational areas	Total
Stra01	Panoramic view of overturned bar of Iferghas	2	4	4	4	3	1	2	4	2	4	3	1	4	305
Kar02	Karst cliff of Ighir-n-Oumejjad	4	4	4	3	3	1	2	3	3	4	3	1	3	305
Stra03	Panoramic view of the Ait Attab syncline	4	4	4	2	3	1	2	4	3	4	3	1	2	305
Stru04	The tectonic deformations of Jbel Hassan	2	4	4	4	3	1	2	1	2	4	3	1	2	250
Pal05	The ruiniform limestones with ammonite of the Ben Cherrou Formation	3	3	4	2	3	1	3	4	3	4	3	1	2	290
Geom06	Panoramic view of the Cretaceous cuestas	4	3	4	2	4	1	4	2	3	4	3	1	2	280
Flu07	The bad land of Ait Ouabit	3	4	4	3	3	1	4	1	2	4	2	1	2	250
Geom08	Gorges of Ait Ouabit	4	4	4	3	3	1	2	3	2	4	4	1	3	305
Stra9	Conglomerate terraces of Oued El Abid	4	2	4	2	3	1	4	2	2	4	3	1	2	255
Pal10	The footprints of sauropod dinosaurs of Ayt Bouiqban	4	2	4	2	3	1	3	0	4	4	4	1	2	250
Stra11	Lower limit of the basaltic flow B2	4	3	4	3	3	1	3	3	3	4	2	1	2	285
Stra12	Jurassic-Cretaceous unconformity and volcanic activities	4	3	4	3	3	1	3	3	3	4	2	1	2	285
Pal13	Bioclastic limestone with ammonite of the Bine El Ouidane BIII Formation	4	4	4	3	3	1	3	3	2	3	2	1	1	275
Flu14	Panoramic view of Oued El Abid from the old Caida of Taounza	4	3	3	4	3	1	3	4	2	4	4	1	2	315
Spel15	Caves of cats and the spring of Tisqui	3	4	4	3	3	1	3	3	3	4	4	1	2	305
Pal16	Bioclastic marly limestone of Ait Tafelt Formation	2	4	4	4	3	1	3	1	2	4	3	1	1	250
Geom17	Eroded sandstone of Jbel Ilaghmane	4	3	4	2	3	1	2	2	2	4	2	1	1	240
Stra18	Panoramic view of the red formations separated by the BI and BII magmatic events	4	4	4	3	3	1	3	3	3	4	3	1	2	305
Kar19	Ruiniform reliefs of Jbel Al Maqçoura	4	4	4	3	3	1	3	4	1	4	3	1	3	305

Quantitative assessment of degradation risks (DR) of selected geosites and geodiversity sites in the Ait Attab syncline and required protections.

Code	Name	Degradation risks					Total	Required protection
Code	Name	Deterioration of geological elements	Proximity activities cause degradation	Legal protection	Accessibility	Density of populations	Total	Required protection
Stra01	Panoramic view of overturned bar of Iferghas	2	1	4	3	2	235	Medium
Kar02	Karst cliff of Ighir-n-Oumejjad	2	1	4	3	1	225	Medium
Stra03	Panoramic view of the Ait Attab syncline	2	3	3	4	1	260	Medium
Stru04	The tectonic deformations of Jbel Hassan	2	3	4	4	1	280	Medium
Pal05	The ruiniform limestones with ammonite of the Ben Cherrou Formation	3	3	4	3	1	300	High
Geom06	Panoramic view of the Cretaceous cuestas	2	3	4	3	1	265	Medium
Flu07	The bad land of Ait Ouabit	3	3	4	4	1	315	High
Geom08	Gorges of Ait Ouabit	2	2	4	4	1	260	Medium
Stra9	Conglomerate terraces of Oued El Abid	2	3	4	3	1	265	Medium
Pal10	The footprints of sauropod dinosaurs of Ayt Bouiqban	3	3	4	3	1	300	High
Stra11	Lower limit of the basaltic flow B2	3	3	4	4	1	315	High
Stra12	Jurassic-Cretaceous unconformity and volcanic activities	4	2	4	4	1	330	High
Pal13	Bioclastic limestone with ammonite of the Bine El Ouidane BIII Formation	3	3	4	4	1	315	High
Flu14	Panoramic view of Oued El Abid from the old Caida of Taounza	3	3	4	2	1	285	Medium
Spel15	Caves of cats and the spring of Tisqui	4	3	4	3	1	335	High
Pal16	Bioclastic marly limestone of Ait Tafelt Formation	3	4	4	4	1	335	High
Geom17	Eroded sandstone of Jbel Ilaghmane	3	3	4	3	1	300	High
Stra18	Panoramic view of the red formations separated by the BI and BII magmatic events	3	2	4	4	1	295	Medium
Kar19	Ruiniform reliefs of Jbel Al Maqçoura	2	2	4	4	1	260	Medium

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Inventory and Assessment of Geosites and Geodiversity Sites of the Ait Attab Syncline (M’goun Unesco Geopark, Morocco) to Stimulate Geoconservation, Geotourism and Sustainable Development

Publié en ligne: 07 sept. 2023

Pages: 115 - 143

Reçu: 23 déc. 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/quageo-2023-0027

© 2023 Elhassan Louz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Fig. 13.

Some methodologies used to evaluate geoheritage sites.

Assessment criteria used to evaluate geosites and geodiversity sites (Brilha 2016).

Quantitative assessment of the scientific value (SV) of the selected geosites and geodiversity sites in the Ait Attab syncline.

Brief characterisation of geotours, geosites (GS) and geodiversity (GD) sites of the Ait Attab syncline.

Quantitative assessment of potential educational uses of selected geosites and geodiversity sites in the Ait Attab syncline.

Quantitative assessment of potential tourist use of selected geosites and geodiversity sites in the Ait Attab syncline.

Quantitative assessment of degradation risks (DR) of selected geosites and geodiversity sites in the Ait Attab syncline and required protections.