Tectonic–karstic origin of the alleged “impact crater” of Lake Isli (Imilchil district, High Atlas, Morocco)

The scenic lakes Tislit and Isli of the Imilchil area in the central High Atlas of Morocco have been recently promoted to the rank of “dual impact crater” by a group of geoscientists. This was promptly denied by a group of meteorite specialists, but the first team reiterated their impact crater interpretation, now restricted to Lake Isli. This alleged 40-kyr-old impact crater would be associated with the Agoudal meteorite recognized further in the southeast. Here, we show that the lake formed during the Lower–Middle Pleistocene in a small Pliocene (?) pull-apart basin through additional collapsing due to karst phenomena in the underlying limestones. This compares with the formation of a number of lakes of the Atlas Mountains. None of the “proofs” produced in support of a meteoritic origin of Lake Isli coincides with the geology of the area.