Dadès Gorges

[1] The area which now forms the Dadès Gorges lay at the bottom of the sea millions of years ago.

[1] Great quantities of sediment were deposited around giant coral reefs, and over time this material became compacted into a variety of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone.

[1] Eventually, the movement of the Earth's crust caused the region to rise above the sea, forming the Atlas Mountains and surrounding landscape.

The Dadès River established its course quite early in this upheaval, and the flowing water began to erode away the porous sedimentary rock of the mountains.

[1] For the majority of the year, the Dadès has a relatively weak flow, owing to the dryness of the area's climate.