Carta dei Geomorfositi e della Geodiversita’ d’ifrane-Azrou (Medio Atlante, Marocco )

This research has been carried out in the framework of a Doctorate Thesis at the University Mohammed V-Agdal of Rabat (Ms. Amina Malaki) and has consisted in the individuation, the study and the cataloguing of forty sites of geological and geomorphological interest of particular scientific, didactic or touristic-cultural value in the region of the Middle Atlas of Ifrane-Azrou (Morocco). The choice of geosites and geomorphosites as main objective of this thesis is determined by the absolute lack of specific researches on these topics in Morocco, but also by the existence of geological and geomorphological characteristics and phenomena that ensure the presence of a large number of natural and cultural sites related to geology and geomorphology, that deserve to be better known, safeguarded and valorised. The acquired information, together with several itineraries, have been resumed in a geo-thematic Map that represents a valid synthesis of the obtained results, able to give an overview of the consistence and of the territorial distribution of the geological and geomorphological sites, representing the geological heritage of the Middle Atlas, up to now mostly ignored or poorly evaluated. This Map contains the proposals for the integration of the traditional tourist routes mainly based on cultural heritage (e.g. imperial cities) with these geomorphological sites and the geological landscape