The Geoheritage of Kerdous Inlier (Western Anti-Atlas, Morocco): Pages of Earth History in an Outstanding Landscape

The Kerdous massif (Anti-Atlas of Morocco) consists of outstanding geological features and landscapes, such as many fascinating erosion landforms. Moreover, the outcropping rocks in the area comprise a unique record of multiple processes in the Earth geological evolution. The first list, resulting of the preliminary inventory of the most relevant and representative geosites in the region includes four large zones of exceptional value. These are the granite landforms of Tafraoute (south of Tafraoute village), the Ameln valley (north of Tafraoute), the Aït-Mansour gorges (southeast of Tafraoute) and the Izerbi plain (south of the Kerdous inlier). Their features make the Kerdous area worthy of conservation as a natural-cultural site deserving a Global Geopark status. The protection of these geosites is compatible with their use as a cultural resource. Geoheritage-based tourism activities could be promoted under an appropriate management plan based on geoeducation and geoconservation.