Editing Atlas Mountains (section)

==Geology==
[[File:Atlas-Mountains-Labeled-2.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.75|A map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains across [[North Africa]]]]

The [[basement rock]] of most of Africa was formed during the [[Precambrian]] supereon and is much older than the Atlas Mountains lying on the continent. The Atlas was formed during three subsequent phases of Earth's geology.

The first tectonic deformation phase involves only the [[Anti-Atlas]], which was formed in the [[Paleozoic]] Era (~300 million years ago) as the result of [[continental collision]]s. [[North America]], [[Europe]] and [[Africa]] were connected millions of years ago.
[[File:Atlas Mountains tectonic plates.png|thumb|The tectonic boundary]]
The Anti-Atlas Mountains are believed to have originally been formed as part of the [[Alleghenian orogeny]]. These mountains were formed when Africa and America collided and were once a chain rivaling today's [[Himalayas]]. Today, the remains of this chain can be seen in the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|Fall Line region]] in the [[Eastern United States]]. Some remnants can also be found in the later formed [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachians]] in North America.

A second phase took place during the [[Mesozoic]] Era (before ~66 My). It consisted of a widespread extension of the Earth's [[Crust (geology)|crust]] that [[rift]]ed and separated the continents mentioned above. This extension was responsible for the formation of many thick intracontinental [[sedimentary basin]]s including the present Atlas. Most of the rocks forming the surface of the present High Atlas were deposited under the ocean at that time.

In the [[Paleogene]] and [[Neogene]] Periods (~66 million to ~1.8 million years ago), the mountain chains that today constitute the Atlas were uplifted, as the land masses of Europe and Africa collided at the southern end of the [[Iberian Peninsula]]. Such [[Convergent boundary|convergent tectonic boundaries]] occur where two plates slide towards each other forming a [[subduction]] zone (if one plate moves underneath the other), and/or a [[orogeny|continental collision]] (when the two plates contain [[continental crust]]). In the case of the Africa-Europe collision, it is clear that tectonic convergence is partially responsible for the formation of the [[High Atlas]], as well as for the closure of the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] and the formation of the [[Alps]] and the [[Pyrenees]].<ref name="UAB.es">[http://einstein.uab.cat/c_geotectonica/WebAtlas/AtlasLitho.htm UAB.es]{{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Potential field modelling of the Atlas [[lithosphere]]</ref><ref name=tp2005>{{cite journal|title=Crustal structure under the central High Atlas Mountains (Morocco) from geological and gravity data|last1=Ayarza|first1=P.|others= et al.|year=2005|journal=[[Tectonophysics (journal)|Tectonophysics]]|volume=400|issue=1–4 |pages=67–84|doi=10.1016/j.tecto.2005.02.009|bibcode=2005Tectp.400...67A }}</ref>

However, there is a lack of evidence for the nature of the subduction in the Atlas region, or for the thickening of the Earth's crust generally associated with continental collisions. One of the most striking features of the Atlas to geologists is the relatively small amount of crustal thickening and tectonic shortening despite the important altitude of the mountain range. Recent studies suggest that deep processes rooted in the Earth's mantle may have contributed to the uplift of the High and Middle Atlas.<ref name="UAB.es"/><ref name=tp2005/>
[[File:Atlas Mountain range.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|View of the mountains]]

===Natural resources===
The Atlas are rich in [[natural resources]]. There are deposits of [[iron ore]], [[lead ore]], [[copper]], [[silver]], [[mercury (element)|mercury]], [[rock salt]], [[phosphate]], [[marble]], [[anthracite|anthracite coal]] and [[natural gas]] among other resources.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}