Active tectonics in the Moroccan High Atlas

Review of seismological and structural data coupled with new data on topographical, geomorphology, and Quaternary geology allows delineating the major active faults of the High Atlas. These are the North and South border faults of which fault segmentations correspond to Mw max ranging between 6.1 and 6.4. Detail active tectonics analyses were performed on the South Atlas Fault Zone in the Souss and Ouarzazate basins, where deformed Quaternary levels permit to estimate slip rates on individual faults in the order of 0.1 mm yr −1 . Such low slip rates imply that large observational time-window is needed to analyze active deformation in low-seismicity regions. However, the complex 3D geometry of reverse or thrust faults may cause difficulty to relate surface observations with the deeper faults that have the potential to nucleate big earthquakes. Further studies are necessary to interpret the Anti Atlas seismicity.