Recent progress in the knowledge of the Alboran region subaerial geology and the results of the Garcia del Cid seismic cruises stimulate a reexamination of the tectonic framework of the southwestern part of the Mediterranean. The subaerial geology is governed by a north-south stress field, whereas the marine structures indicate an east-west stress regime. This apparent contradiction results from a difference in age of the tectonics. The main marine extensional features are related to the opening of basins toward the southwest during Burdigalian-Langhian times, while the subaerial structures were developed during a compressional regime from the Tortonian period up to the present. © 1992 Springer-Verlag New York Inc

7 pages, 6 figures