A revision of the Eurasian-African plate boundary in the western Mediterranean

The current picture of the plate configuration in the western Mediterranean suggests that Africa and Europe are separated by a transcurrent fault striking east-west through the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea. Such a fault has been generally assumed because the Azores transform fault approaches the Horseshoe Seamounts north of Madeira and therefore could possibly extend through the Strait of Gibraltar. However, detailed geological studies in the Arc of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea reveal no major east-west fault transecting the crust there. This finding is used here to revise the boundary between the African and Eurasian plates. It is suggested that the northern boundary of the African plate in the western Mediterranean is formed by the Hayes-Atlas Fault instead of the Azores transform.