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Morocco offers a wealth of biological, geological, and cultural diversity. This manuscript focuses on strengthening the information about the geological heritage in the northeastern part of the Central High Atlas, south of Midelt City, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region. This work consists of identifying, characterizing, and quantifying the significance of twelve sites of geological interest in the Tizi N’Talghemt area. The quantitative analysis is based on each site’s scientific value, potential for educational and tourist use, and degradation risk. Four Geosites with very high scientific value and eight Geodiversity sites with considerable potential for academic and tourist activities have been identified. All sites offer significant scientific, educational, and tourist potential and deserve rigorous protection to prevent degradation. Our goal is to expand the strategy of the Moroccan National Program for Geology MNPG-2030 and reinforce UNESCO’s guidelines for preserving the national geological heritage. Incorporating our conclusions into local and regional development plans will help raise the region’s visibility and enhance its attractiveness while preserving these endangered geological treasures. Our recommendations are meant to promote and protect the area’s geological heritage; they represent a crucial tool that local decision-makers should consider when planning the region’s development in the future. 

Reef communities changed dramatically during the Early Jurassic as they recovered from the End-Triassic Mass Extinction. The Atlas Rift Zone in Morocco provided expansive shallow water substrate, which allowed a variety of reef communities to develop, such as lithiotid bivalves that established themselves as new and prolific reef builders alongside corals, microbialites, and sponges in the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian stages. To better understand the dynamics between these reef builders and their environments, a detailed facies analysis of upper Pliensbachian reefs and a quantitative analysis of their composition was undertaken. We describe two distinct environmentally controlled reef types in the Central High Atlas Mountains. Lithiotid bivalves dominated reef construction in lagoonal environments and, together with phaceloid corals, commonly built bioherms and biostromes that ranged from 1 to 2 m tall and up to several hundred meters wide. Meanwhile, on the platform edge, microbialites, corals, and sponges constructed patch reefs up to 7 m tall and 20 m wide. These two reef types share common facies, as many of the same reef inhabitants, and some framework builders, grew in both environments. Despite the facies overlap, the communities in these two environmental settings are distinct, which is likely a result of environmental controls on the dominant reef framework builders. Moderately turbid waters and soft substrate in lagoons were ideal conditions for lithiotids but excluded many corals, sponges, and microbialites. Conversely, the clear, oligotrophic waters at the platform edge allowed photosynthetic and photosymbiotic organisms to thrive (e.g., coral and microbial reefs), while firmer substrate and higher wave energy may have prevented lithiotids from establishing dense populations. 

The Tinghir-Dades-Imilchil area is a geosite of high scientific, educational, and touristic values in the Draa-Tafilalet Region, Southeast Morocco. It has a rich geodiversity, including mountain ranges, plains, deserts, plateaus, and coasts, offering geomorphological and panoramic views, oases, lacks, and unique geological features (e.g., structural geology, sedimentology, petrogra-phy, paleontology, and hydrogeology). This paper focuses on the inventory and quantitative as-sessment of 25 sites of geological interest using the global methodology based on scientific value (SV), potential educational use (PEU) and potential touristic use (PTU), and degradation risk (DR) of each site. Indeed, SV is very high for 15 sites, high for 9 sites, and moderate for 1 site; PEU is very high for 21 sites and high for 4 sites; PTU is very high for 8 sites and high for 17 sites; and DR is high for 10 sites and moderate for 15 sites. Thus, 15 geosites (sites with very high SV values) and 10 geodiversity sites (sites with very high PEU or PTU values) are identified. These sites show highly significant scientific, educational, and touristic potentialities that should be valued and protected from degradation. Our work fits in well with the National Program of the Geology of Morocco-2030 strategy and the UNESCO directives, which aim at the inventory, awareness, valorization, and preservation of geological heritage. In addition, identi-fying and valuing these sites will help increase the area's attractiveness, preserve the environ-ment, and protect and enhance the region's geological history by introducing the geoheritage concept into its local and regional development plans. Suggested recommendations for their valorization and preservation constitute a valuable tool for local stakeholders to program their future sustainable actions and to improve the living conditions of the local population by creating new employment opportunities. 

Abstract The Central High Atlas Mountains of Morocco have an extensive record of Lower Jurassic deposits from the Tethyan Ocean. In the Amellago region, Ziz Valley, and Dadès Valley several fossilized reef outcrops preserve benthic foraminifera spanning the Pliensbachian and Toarcian stages. This study analyzes benthic foraminiferal assemblage changes across the bi-phased extinctions at the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary and the Jenkyns Event (also referred to as the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event). In Pliensbachian samples, assemblages with abundant Glomospira sp., Glomospirella sp., Siphovalvulina sp., Haurania deserta, Placopsilina sp., Mesoendothyra sp., and Everticyclammina praevirguliana are observed. Following both the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary event and the Jenkyns Event, benthic foraminiferal density, evenness, and species richness decreased, indicating these communities underwent ecologic stress; however, loss of diversity was most substantial between samples that pre-date and post-date the Jenkyns Event. Whereas the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary event coincides with the demise of the large benthic foraminifera Mesoendothyra sp. and Everticyclammina praevirguliana, the Jenkyns Event was detrimental for most clades of benthic foraminifera, including many small, resilient taxa. Based on the evidence provided, we suggest that the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary and the Jenkyns Event were distinct events, potentially caused by distinct environmental perturbations.