Field, seismic and well-log data suggest that most of the Triassic of the external domain of the Betic-Maghrebian domain of the Western Mediterranean is allochthon. Allochthonous Triassic is much more abundant in the Guadalquivir Allochthon (i. e. Westernmost Sub-Betic realm) of the Betic Cordillera than in the Rif. Triassic evaporites are directly in contact or inbedded within Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene deep-water sediments and the Jurassic is absent. In the Rif Cordillera the so-called « marnes a gypse » suggest evaporitic re-sedimentation within the actual Prerifaine Nappe. Along the Central Rif, exploration well BB-1 encountered several meters thick Triassic breccia that constitute the basal detachment of the area. Further east in Algeria and Tunisia several Triassic « salt glaciers » emplaced during Albian to Turonian time have been described along the Tell Cordillera. Restoring the lateral displacement of Africa and Iberia the Betic and Maghrebian (i. e. Rif and Tell Cordilleras) passive margins where facing each other during Triassic and Jurassic times. During Neogene time after the emplacement and collision of the Alboran Block the allochthonous evaporitic province was dismembered and thrusted onto the pasive margins of Iberia and North Africa. The Gulf of Cadiz and the Prebetic Zone represents the only preserved segments of the south Iberian Mesozoic passive margin. All these observations suggest that during Cretaceous time the South Iberian and North African margins resembled the present day Gulf of Mexico. Therefore the Betic, Rif and Tell Cordilleras could provide field analogs of exploration allochthonous salt provinces.
Plate Tectonic Evolution and Paleogeography of the Tethyan Region