This study adopts an integrated approach using the geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing techniques for structural mapping in inaccessible zone of the internal segment of North-Western Rif belt, Morocco. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Optimal Index Factor (OIF), band ratios and directional filtering are applied to Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) image for mapping lithology and geological structures. Tectonic lineaments are extracted using the remote sensing and GIS approach and verified by in-situ data. Lithology and detailed structural features in the study area as well as the main sets of fractures trending NW-SE and E-W are identified and highlighted. The results obtained in this research demonstrate that the integration of remote sensing imagery and GIS techniques is a reliable and low-cost approach to fracture extraction and structural mapping, particularly in remote and inaccessible regions of the African plate and other analogue zones around the world.
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