Contributions of the GIS and the MNT in the Study of the Landscape Morphogenesis of the Area Goulmima-Errachidia (Morocco)

Abstract

Oasis of the Rheris is located in the South-East of Morocco in the province of Errachidia, in the region of Draa-Tafilalt. This zone of study contains in its administrative unit the municipality of Goulmima, and two rural communes: Gheris El Ouloui and Gheris Essoufli. The cretaceous basin of Gheris constitutes of the principal geomorphological entities is limited by the carbonated Jurassic High-Atlas in Tadighoust in north and west. In the south, the Anti-Atlas chain of Mellab and Tinjdad is dominated by a Precambrian base which supports with its back a thick cover of the Paleozoic. And in the center there is Rheris Oasis which characterizes this bioclimatic zone. This oasis looks like an island in the saharan desert. Finally, Hammada de Meski is located in the east. In the tourist literature of Morocco, it mentions the gravitational landscapes in the south of Morocco, of which are geomorphosites of Goulmima that offer superb landscapes. From my point of view, the primary reason behind this research task is to promote geo-eco-tourism for sustainable development of this area. Several tourists cross the zone of study, especially Amellagou-Tinjdad circuit because they are attracted much when they arrive at the beautiful landscape of Rheris, such as geomorphlogical landscape (Tifounassine: full of fresh water). There are many other sources like Tamda N’mssoud, Boukhazm and Asdram of a distance from important observation which offers a beautiful vision on the synclinorium infracenomanian. According to Panizza (2001), the geomorphosites are forms of the relief which have acquired a scientific, cultural and historical, aesthetic, didactic and/or socio-economic value because of their perception. The cartography of the geomorphosites fundamentally aims at giving to the users an immediate perception of the space distribution and representation of the forms of the relief [1]. Today, the use of the Geographical Information Systems has acquired an important growing because of the possibilities of update and interaction with the user with a view to natural regional planning. The digital models of ground (MNT), extracted from the satellite pictures offer valuable help for the analysis and the detailed cartography of the reliefs. The GIS applied to the geographical zone of Goulmima led to the construction and the reading of the results produced by several cards sets of themes.