The mafic, ultramafic and metamorphic xenoliths in triassic evaporite complexes, North West Algeria

Abstract

In northwestern Algeria, Triassic evaporate bodies contain varied xenoliths extracted from the lower crust and upper mantle and are interpreted as evidence of crustal thinning at the beginning of the Triassic period. Similar materials are known to occur in the internal areas of the western Mediterranean chains, which allow us to propose the existence of a wide area of crustal thinning during the Triassic along the future Tethyan axis.