Kef Toghobeit is a

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

cave near the settlement of

Bab Taza Bab Taza is a town in Chefchaouen Province, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco. According to the 2004 census it has a population of 4,066. A nearby attraction is the Kef Toghobeit Cave Kef Toghobeit is a karst cave near the settlement of Bab Taza ...

Chefchaouen Province Chefchaouen is a province in the Moroccan economic region of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima. According to the 2014 national census in Morocco, the province has more than 457,432 inhabitants. The population is 87.45% rural. The major cities and towns ...

Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima ( ar, طنجة - تطوان - الحسيمة, ṭanja - tiṭwān - al-ḥusayma; ber, ⵟⴰⵏⵊⴰ ⵜⵉⵟⵡⴰⵏ ⵍⵃⵓⵙⵉⵎⴰ, ṭanja tiṭwan lḥusima) is the northernmost of the twelve regions of ...

, in northern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. Currently known to be long and deep, it is the deepest cave in Morocco, and the third deepest cave in Africa. Although Kef Toghobeit has been well-explored, its full extent is not yet known. Only 1000 caves are known in Morocco, many of them barely mapped, although the geology would suggest that many more do exist.

Topography and formation

Kef Toghobeit is just one of over a thousand caves in a 30,000 square kilometre area of

Karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

formation in Morocco. The cave formed in the Rif mountain range, which is primarily formed of relatively soft minerals such as

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Winter snowfall and rainfall add up to an annual precipitation rate of 600 to 1000 mm. The heavy precipitation quickly erodes the soft minerals, creating deep caves where the water wore away at the stone. The interior of Kef Toghobeit is covered in loose boulders and rubble.

References

{{Morocco topics Caves of Morocco Chefchaouen Province