Atlas Mountains
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Map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains (colored red) across North Africa |
The
Atlas Mountains () are a
mountain range in northwest
Africa extending about 2,400 km (1,500 miles) through
Morocco,
Algeria, and
Tunisia, and including
The Rock of Gibraltar. The highest peak is
Jbel Toubkal, with an elevation of 4,167
m (13,665 feet) located at in southwestern Morocco. The second highest mountain is the M'Goun of 4071 meters. The Atlas ranges separate the
Mediterranean and
Atlantic coastlines from the
Sahara Desert. The population of the Atlas mountains are mainly
Berber in Morocco and
Arab in
Algeria.
The mountains are divided into additional and separate ranges, including the
Middle Atlas,
High Atlas and
Anti-Atlas. The lower
Tell Atlas running near the coast and the larger
Saharan Atlas running further south terminate in the
Aurès Mountains located in Algeria and
Tunisia. To the north in Morocco lies the
Rif Mountains range.
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Map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains across North Africa |
African geology
The basement rock of Africa was formed in the
Precambrian period (approximately 4.5 billion to approximately 550 million years ago) and is much older than the Atlas mountains lying in Africa. The Atlas range developed later.
Creation of the Atlas Range
To understand the Atlas range, as it appears today, one must understand the parts, since its emergence took place to two different phases of earth's history. The first part consists only of the
Anti-Atlas, which was formed in the
Paleozoic (~300 million years ago) as the result of continental
collisions.
North America,
Europe and
Africa were connected millions of years ago. The Anti-Atlas mountains are believed to have originally been formed as part of
Alleghenian orogeny. These mountains were formed when Africa and America collided, and were once a chain far higher than today's
Himalaya. Today, the remains of this chain can be seen in the
Fall line in the eastern
United States. Some remnants can also be found in the later formed
Appalachians in North America. The
Sierra Nevada mountains in
Spain were similarly formed in this continental collision.
More recently in the
Tertiary period (~65 millions to ~1.8 million years ago) the remaining mountain chains that today comprise the Atlas were uplifted as the land masses of Europe and Africa collided at the southern end of the
Iberian peninsula.
Convergent tectonic boundaries occur where two plates slide towards each other commonly forming a
subduction zone (if one plate moves underneath the other) and a
continental collision (when the two plates contain continental crust). Deep marine trenches are typically associated with subduction zones. Due to
friction and
heating of the subducting slab
volcanism is almost always closely linked as is observed in southern
Italy. In this case the movement not only formed the
High Atlas, but closed the
Straits of Gibraltar, and formed the
Alps and
Pyrenees.
Seismic activity
Because the Atlas mountains lie on the
fault zone, the area is seismically active. The city of
Blida in Algeria which lies today it the middle of the
Tell Atlas with a population of about 265,000 (2005) inhabitants was completely destroyed by strong quakes in the
19th century. Likewise the city of
Cheliff lying in
Algeria with a population of ~235,000 (2005) inhabitants suffered 5,000 fatalities in a 1980 earthquake of magnitude 7.3 on
Richter Scale.
Natural resources
The Atlas is rich in
natural resources. There is
iron ore,
lead ore,
copper,
rock salt,
phosphate,
mercury,
marble,
silver,
hard coal and
natural gas among other resources.
The range can be divided into three general regions from west to east:
* Moroccan Atlas in Morocco, which further divides from north to south into:
*
Saharan Atlas (Algeria).
*
Tell Atlas (Algeria, Tunisia)
Moroccan Atlas ranges
From north to south the Moroccan ranges divide into the
Rif range
[The Rif is not strictly of the Atlas range, but is included here for completeness.], the
Middle Atlas range, the
High Atlas range, and the
Anti-Atlas range.
Rif range
The Rif is a mountainous region of northern Morocco, from
Cape Spartel and
Tangier in the west to
Cape Tres Forcas (
Ras Tleta Madari) and
Melilla in the east, and from the
Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of
Ouargha in the south. The people of the Rif are
Berbers (Amazigh people) of north Morocco who call themselves
Imazighen.
Middle Atlas range
Main article:Middle Atlas
The
Middle Atlas is a portion of the Atlas mountain range lying in completely in Morocco. The Middle Atlas is the westernmost of three Atlas Mountains chains that define a large plateaued basin extending eastward into
Algeria. South of the Middle Atlas and separated by the
Moulouya and
Oum Er-Rbia rivers, the
High Atlas stretches for 700 km with a succession of peaks among which ten reach above 4,000 meters. North of the Middle Atlas and separated by the
Sebou River, the
Rif mountains are an extension of the
Baetic Cordillera (Baetic mountains, which include the
Sierra Nevada) in the south of Spain.
High Atlas
Main articles:High Atlas The High Atlas in central Morocco rises in the west at the
Atlantic coast and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. At the Atlantic and to the southwest the range drops abruptly and makes an impressive transition to the coast and the Anti-Atlas range. To the north, in the direction of
Marrakech, the range descends less abruptly.
On the heights of
Ouarzazate the massif is cut through by the
Dráa valley which opens southward. In this chaos of rocks the contrasts are astonishing: water runs in some places, forming clear basins. It is mainly inhabited by
Berber people, who live in small villages and cultivate the high plains of
Ourika Valley.
Near
Barrage Cavagnac, there is a
hydroelectric dam that has created the artificial lake
Lala Takerkoust. The lake serves also as a source for fish for the local fishermen.
The largest villages and towns of the area are
Tahanaoute,
Amizmiz,
Asni,
Tin Mal,
Ijoukak, and
Oukaïmden.
Anti-Atlas ranges
Main article:Anti-Atlas
The Anti-Atlas extends from the
Atlantic Ocean in the southwest of Morocco toward the northeast to the heights of
Ouarzazate and further east to the city of
Tafilalt (altogether a distance of approximately 500 km). In the south it borders the
Sahara. The easternmost point of the anti-Atlas is the
Djebel Sarhro mountains and its eastern boundary is set by sections of the
High Atlas range.
Saharan Atlas range
Main article: Saharan Atlas
The Saharan Atlas of
Algeria is the eastern portion of the Atlas mountain range. Not as high as the Grand Atlas they are far more imposing than the Tell Atlas range that run to the north of them and closer to the coast. The tallest peak in the range is the 2236 m high
Djebel Aissa. They mark the northern edge of the
Sahara Desert. The mountains see some rainfall and are better suited to agriculture than the
plateau region to the north. Today most of the population of the region are
Berbers.
Tell Atlas range
Main article: Tell Atlas
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Panoramic view of typical Berber village (Morocco - High Atlas Mountains). |
The Tell Atlas is a mountain chain over 1,500 kilometers in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges and stretching from Morocco, through Algeria to Tunisia. It parallels the
Mediterranean coast. Together with the Saharan Atlas to the south it forms the northernmost of two more or less parallel ranges which gradually approach one another towards the east, merging in
Eastern Algeria. At the western end, it ends at the
Rif and
Middle Atlas ranges in Morocco. The area immediately to the south of this range is high plateau, with lakes in the wet season and salt flats in the dry.
Aurès mountain range
Main article: Aurès Mountains
The Aurès Mountains of Algeria and
Tunisia are the furthest eastern portion of the Atlas mountain range.
*
Capsian culture*
North Africa*
Africa*
Pedaling over Atlas*
Encyclopedia of the Orient - Atlas Mountains
