Abstract
Three main facts appear during the evolution of the Aquitaine basin and the Pyrenean orogenic belt : 1. The structural heritage : it is along NW-SE and N 50-60°E faults, which are ancient, Palaeozoic at least, that the continental lithosphere has opened to form the Bay of Biscay (Golfe de Gascogne), and then closed to form the Pyrenean orogenic belt. 2. The opening of the Bay of Biscay is an Atlantic event, provoking the formation of the Parentis, of the North-Pyrenean and Provence-Vocontian basins, enriched in hydrocarbons. 3. The coming up of Africa to the North blocked the Bay of Biscay opening and reversed it into a impressive closure reaching the Iberian Plate, the Pyrenees, the Provence and the future Western Mediterranean Sea, just before the Alps surrection.
Published Version
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