The formation of the Alboran basin is encompassed within the Alpine orogeny, a large-scale tectonic process active since the late Mesozoic and during most of the Cenozoic, that is characterized in the Mediterranean Sea domain by the convergence between the Eurasian and African plates. In this context, the Alboran microplate migrated westwards and tangentially collided with the Iberian plate. As a consequence, during the Miocene (late Cenozoic), there was simultaneously a compression process, causing the uplift of the surrounding mountain ranges in the Gibraltar Arc, and an extension process, responsible for the Alboran basin opening. The extension stress field produced the continental crust thinning and different magmatism and volcanism episodes during the late Miocene, especially in the southern and eastern zones. Therefore, the relief of the Alboran Sea seafloor is complex and rugged, and it is divided in sub-basins by seamounts and volcanic cones. The extensive phase ended up in the late Miocene and the compressive stress field became dominant in the region, accommodated by fold alignments perpendicular to the compression and NNE-SSW and WNW-ESE reverse and strike-slip faults.

Currently, the oblique convergence between the Eurasian and African plates is active, in NW-SE direction and shows a displacement rate around 5 mm/yr. Hence, the dominant stress field in the region is compressive with strike-slip component (transpressive regime).

The complex and intense tectonic activity in this region generated different structures like the Alboran Ridge Crest and the Pagès and Tofiño Banks which are bounded on the north and south by opposite dipping active reverse faults. Both conjugate reverse fault systems are NE-SW direction and correspond to the Alboran Ridge Crest faults (FARN and FARS) and the Tofiño faults (FTÑS and FTÑN under debate), being the faults in the southern side of the structures the ones dipping to the NW. The Alboran Ridge Crest was partially an active volcano during the late Miocene. This relief divides the Alboran Sea into three sub-basins: west (COA), east (COE) and south (CSA). These three domains are limited by some active faults, among which two conjugate strike-slip with reverse component fault systems are the most remarkable. The first system with left-lateral movement encompasses two main faults, the NNE-SSW Al-Idrissi (FAL) fault and the NE-SW Carboneras fault (FC), connecting the region of Almería with the north of Morocco. The second system with right-lateral displacement and NW-SE direction holds one main fault, the WNW-ESE Yusuf fault (FY) that it is composed of two segments around 100 km long each. Northwards, the parallel Averroes faults (FAV and FAVN) and the Adra fault (FA) in front of the Granada and Almería coasts are also worth mentioning. These two strike-slip fault groups concentrate most of the seismic activity in the region. In the southern area of the Alboran Sea (North of Morocco) it also stands out the N-S normal Trougout (FTR) fault.