Big boulders and catastrophic debris flows in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco
Madeleine Hann, University of Manchester
The High Atlas Mountains of Morocco were formed circa. 30 Ma during collision of Africa and Eurasia. The resulting topography is as dramatic as the Moroccan culture. The previously glaciated, steepland river catchments of the High Atlas contain a valuable record of Quaternary environmental change. One catchment, near the popular tourist village of Imlil, contains a series of 200+ enormous basalt boulders up to 10 m in diameter. Using geology, geomorphology and absolute dating methods, the mystery of the mechanism and timing of their deposition has been untangled. These ‘mega-boulders’ indicate a catastrophic event which continues to have an impact on the catchment today. Understanding past catastrophic events helps our understanding of dominant landscape shaping processes and predicting future hazards in deglaciation mountain regions.
Madeleine grew up in the North Yorkshire seaside resort of Whitby and attended Whitby Community College. She went on to study Geology and Geophysics at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London in 2013-2017. Despite her roots on Yorkshire’s Jurassic Coast, Madeleine admits she ‘was never very good at Palaeontology’ and is now completing her PhD in Physical Geography at the University of Manchester (2017-2020). Now living back in Whitby, Madeleine is a keen sea swimmer and trail runner, enjoying exploring the old mine works and outcrops along the coast.
Madeleine was awarded a grant from the YGS Fearnsides Award scheme in 2018/19.