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Synsedimentary faulting and palaeocurrent patterns in the Triassic sandstones of the High Atlas (Morocco)
Author(s) -
PETIT JEANPIERRE,
BEAUCHAMP JACQUES
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
sedimentology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.494
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1365-3091
pISSN - 0037-0746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3091.1986.tb00984.x
Subject(s) - geology , fault scarp , fluvial , paleontology , fault block , subsidence , fault (geology) , echelon formation , sediment , geomorphology , structural basin
The influence of syndepositional fault patterns on palaeocurrents is demonstrated in fluvial to shallow‐marine sandstones of Upper Triassic basins in the High Atlas. The synsedimentary nature of faults is deduced from hydroplastic slickensides, thickness variations due to block tilting and dislocation of layers next to the fault scarp. On a regional scale, it is shown that the major normal fault trend of N050–070° controlled the overall palaeocurrent pattern which was directed towards the west‐southwest, i.e. in the direction of the future Atlantic ocean. Some anomalies in the palaeocurrent pattern could be related to an increase in subsidence which induced a general coarsening of sediment towards the top of the Triassic.