Across the northwestern Tabular Middle Atlas of Morocco there are many examples of geomorphosites providing key evidence of a particular moment or period in Earth history. Such Earth heritage sites are important for educating the general public in environmental matters. They also serve as tools for demonstrating sustainable development and for illustrating methods of site conservation, as well as remembering that geomorphosites form an integral part of the natural world.
A detailed geomorphological study has been carried out in the area of the northwestern Tabular Middle Atlas of Morocco using a combination of high resolution satellite data and direct field observations integrated by geological maps and scientific literature. In order to describe and evaluate the geomorphological heritage of this area, 24 geomorphosites have been selected comprising springs, karst landforms (polje, dolines, caves, sinkholes, stone forests, cryptokarstic dolines), carbonate depositional landforms (travertines and waterfalls), and volcanic landforms (volcanoes, caldeira, pyroclastic cones, lava tube). The results of this research have been summarised in a thematic map, representing the geomorphosites related to various landscape units.
The significance of certain sites for aesthetic or tourism reasons is obvious. There are numerous geomorphosites, which could contribute to effective exploitation of geotourism, often in conjunction with ecotourism. The strategy employed in such sites involves close consultation with all communities in the vicinity of each geomorphosite and is not only aimed at tourism and education, but also at sustainable improvement of infrastructures of the people of this area. Geological heritage sites, properly managed, can generate employment and new economic activities, especially in regions in need of new or additional sources of income.
Tafilalet, circuit of the oases, are located at the South-East of Morocco corresponds to Wilaya of Draa-Tafilalet. It gathers the provinces : Midelt, Errachidia, Tinghir and Ouarzazate. The province of Errachidia, zone of study, contains in its administrative unit the following municipalities : Errachidia, Goulmima, Tinjdad, Erfoud, Errissani and Boudnib.
The region of Errachidia, constitutes of the principal geomorphological entities of North to South : the carbonated Jurassic High-Atlas, the cretaceous bassin Boudnib-Ouarzazate with oases characteristic of this bioclimatic zone ressemblignthe « islands in the saharan desert » and the Anti-Atlasic chain dominated by a Precambrien basewich supports with its back a thick cover of the Paleozoic.
In the tourist littérature of Morocco and many web sites nationals and internationals, refer to the gravitational landscapes in the Moroccan south among which geomorphosites of the province of Errachidia, considered by a very diversified geology, a very contrasted geomorphology offering superb landscapes carved by many meteoricerosive phases since the beginning of the Quaternary one strewn with serval endemicoases.
Such is the primary reason of this research task from of point of view to promote geo-eco-tourism for the sustainable development of this area. Several tourist routes cross the zone of study. It presents two important routes such as the Amellagou-Tinjdad circuit and the Errachidia-Ettaous circuit.
While liking it self of tourism of mountain of the High-Atlas of the rural communes of Amellagou and Aghbalou N’kerdous, we will review some summary aspects of natural sites of this presaharien field deserving guided tours in particular geomorphosites hydrogeologic and karstic, following the road curves of the Gheriswadi, appears on its side, a geomorphlogical landscape named « Asdram » of a distance from important observation offers a beautiful vision on the synclinorium infracenomanien. And while arrivingat the South of geomorphosites of the sedimentological type in particular the deposits of travertineuses layers meadows of the emergence of the sources.
One proposess for this tourist way to make know a methodology of evaluation of the geosites recentlyused in the literature relating to the geological heritage in Switzerland, in Italy, in France and Romania following the many requests to share it with an aim of showing the wealth and the importance of the local geodiversity, methodology discusses the structure of the cards of evaluation, the scientific, didactic evaluation and of the additional parameters as well as the attribution of the various scores.
In order to establish a flood hazard and flood risk maps of Guelmim city (south of Morocco), physical characteristics evaluation of the Assaka watershed proves primordial; mainly the Sayed and Oum Laachar wadis sub-watersheds. In the end of 2014, the Assaka basin with its main affluents Sayed and Oum Laachar wadis were subject to floods causing huge human and material damages. The methodological approach is based on the use of Geographic Information System ArcGIS and spatial hydrological models, HEC-GeoDozer and HEC-GeoHMS, for the treatment of a field digital model (Mod