MARINE QUATERNARY OF CAP ASHAKAR (TANGIER , MOROCCO) - NEOTECTONICS AND LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY

The lithostratigraphy of the Quaternary deposits of Cap Ashakar (Tangi er, Morocco) is made up of three marine Pleistocene formations: i) the oldest indicates an upper shoreface depositional environment and has suggested a ''cold fauna'' with two common Mediterranean species so fa r unknown on the Moroccan Atlantic coast: Buccinum undatum and Neptune a contraria; ii) the youngest indicates a foreshore depositional envir onment and is dated from the last interglacial period; iii) between th em, a very thick marine Precambrian formation took place, which indica tes an upper shoreface environment followed by a foreshore depositiona l environment. The morphostructural analysis illustrates the role play ed by the recurrent epeirogenic phenomena in the morphogenesis of the north Moroccan Atlantic coast and underlines the occurrence of areas w ith differential motions compared to the general uplift of the Gibralt ar Strait. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Limited.