Tindouf Basin

West Africa: Tindouf Basin to the north of the West African craton

The Tindouf Basin is a major sedimentary basin in West Africa, to the south of the little Atlas region, Morocco. It stretches from west to east about 700km and covers about 100,000 km², mostly in Algeria but with a western extension into Morocco / Western Sahara.

In the Ordovician period (490 Ma to 445 Ma) the area was an embayment sloping down from the West African craton into the Tethys sea. It became a closed basin in the Late Carboniferous (320 Ma to 300 Ma). The basin has a steep northern edge against the Anti Atlas and more gently sloping southern edge. The basin is filled with up to 8 km of sediment from the Cambrian and Carboniferous ageas.^[1] These marine formations are overlain by a continental Cretaceous and Pliocene Hamada cover.^[2]

The basin may have potential for oil and/or gas production, but has been largely unexplored.^[3]

References

↑ Richard C. Selley (1997). African basins. Elsevier. p. 17. ISBN 0-444-82571-1.
↑ S. Guerrak (1989). "Time and space distribution of Palaeozoic oolitic ironstones in the Tindouf Basin, Algerian Sahara". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
↑ M.S.Malla, Dr.D.Takherist (2000). "A GEOCHEMICAL POTENTIAL REVIEW OF THE TINDOUF BASIN , ALGERIAN SAHARA.". World Petroleum Congress. Retrieved 2010-12-26.

Major African geological formations

Plates	African Plate Somali Plate Madagascar Plate Seychelles Plate

Cratons and shields	Arabian-Nubian Shield Congo Craton Kaapvaal Craton Kalahari Craton Saharan Metacraton Tanzania Craton Tuareg Shield West African Craton Zimbabwe Craton

Shear zones	Aswa Dislocation Broodkop Shear Zone Central African Shear Zone Chuan Shear Zones Foumban Shear Zone Mwembeshi Shear Zone Todi Shear Zone Western Meseta Shear Zone

Orogens	Alpide Orogen Cape Fold Belt Damara Orogen East African Orogen Eburnean Orogen Gondwanide Orogen Kuunga Orogen Mauritanide Belt Pan-African orogens Terra Australis Orogen

Rifts	Afar Triangle Anza trough Bahr el Arab rift Benue Trough Blue Nile rift East African Rift Gulf of Suez Rift Lamu Embayment Melut Basin Muglad Basin Red Sea Rift Sangha Aulacogen Atbara rift White Nile rift

Sedimentary basins	Angola Basin Aoukar Blue Nile Basin Chad Basin Congo Basin Douala Basin El Djouf Foreland Karoo Basin Gabon Basin Iullemmeden Basin Kufra Basin Murzuq Basin Niger Delta Basin Ogaden Basin Orange River basin Ouled Abdoun Basin Owambo Basin Reggane Basin Rio del Rey Basin Sirte Basin Somali Coastal Basin Taoudeni basin Tanzania Coastal Basin Tindouf Basin Turkana Basin

Mountain ranges	Aïr Mountains Atlas Mountains Aurès Mountains Bambouk Mountains Blue Mountains Cameroon line Central Pangean Mountains Chaillu Mountains Drakensberg Ethiopian Highlands East African mountains Great Escarpment Great Karas Mountains Guinée forestière Imatong Mountains Jebel Uweinat Loma Mountains Mandara Mountains Marrah Mountains Mitumba Mountains Nuba Mountains Rif Mountains Rwenzori Mountains Sankwala Mountains Serra da Leba Serra da Chela Teffedest Mountains Tibesti Mountains

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