The Belezma Range, also transliterated as Belzma ( ar, بلزمة), is a prolongation of the Aurès Mountains, at the confluence of the

Tell Atlas The Tell Atlas ( ar, الاطلس التلي, Latn, ar, al-ʾaṭlas al-tlī) is a mountain chain over in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges in North Africa, stretching mainly across northern Algeria, with ends in both north-easter ...

and the

Saharan Atlas Saharan may refer to: * Someone or something from the Sahara desert * Sahrawi people (also spelled Saharawi), the indigenous people of Western Sahara * Saharan languages The Saharan languages are a small family of languages across parts of the ea ...

in northeastern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. It is separated from the main Aurès Range by the Batna-

El Kantara El Kantara ( ar, القنطرة, al qantara, the bridge) is a town and commune in Biskra Province, Algeria. The 1911 Baedeker travel guide described it as "one of the most important caravan-stations in E. Algeria." The town is well known for the ...

basin.

Geography and vegetation

The ridge is roughly aligned in an E-W direction. It is located at the western end of the Aurès Range, with the

Hodna Mountains The Hodna Mountains ( ar, جبال حضنة, french: Monts du Hodna) are a mountain massif in northeastern Algeria. It rises on the northern side of the Hodna natural region in the M'Sila Province, near the town of Maadid around 200 km sou ...

to the west. The highest peak, at , is the Djebel Refâa. Other important peaks are high Djebel Tichaou and Djebel Touggourt (meaning 'Cedar Peak'). The Belezma Range has one of the most important natural

Atlas Cedar ''Cedrus atlantica'', the Atlas cedar, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae, native to the Rif and Atlas Mountains of Morocco (Middle Atlas, High Atlas), and to the Tell Atlas in Algeria.Gaussen, H. (1964). Genre ''Cedrus''. Les F ...

forests of Algeria. It is qualified as a 'dry facies' pure forest owing to its location and the influence of the large deserts nearby, being located only north of the

gorges, and there has been a high mortality of the trees in recent times. The Belezma mountains have been traditionally inhabited by the ''Houaras''

Chaoui people The Chaoui people or ''Shawia'' ( arq, الشاوية, shy, Išawiyen) are an Amazigh (Berber) ethnic group to the Aurès region in northeastern Algeria which spans Batna and Khenchla, Oum El Bouaghi provinces located in and surrounded by the ...

. There is very low population density in the area and villages are few.

Belezma Plain

The Belezma Plain (french: Plaine de Belezma) is an elevated

intermontane Intermontane is a physiographic adjective formed from the prefix " inter-" (''signifying among, between, amid, during, within, mutual, reciprocal'') and the adjective "montane" (inhabiting, or growing in mountainous regions, especially cool, moi ...

basin located to the Northwest between the area of the National Park and Mount Mestaoua. Its main town is

Merouana Merouana (Tamazight: Tamerwant) is a city in Batna Province, Algeria. It is situated around 40 km from Batna City, and is inhabited by the Chaoui Berbers. Merouana is one of the oldest local daïras (districts). It is the capital of the ...

at over sea level. The plain is one of the most fertile areas in the region and has traditionally been a granary for the local population. Mount Mestaoua, a veritable natural fortress, is a historical

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

History

The

Ksar Ksar or qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: wiktionary:قصر, قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber language, Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the Nor ...

of Belezma () to the north of the range is the site of an ancient

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

fortress. The now ruined structure was once used as an observation outpost by the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

dynasties that followed the Byzantine domination. This massif was the last refuge of

Abu Yazid Abu Yazid Makhlad ibn Kaydad (; – 19 August 947), known as the Man on the Donkey (), was an Ibadi Berber of the Banu Ifran tribe who led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria) starting i ...

before his death.

Protected areas

The

Belezma National Park The Belezma National Park (Arabic:الحظيرة الوطنية بلزمة) is one of the most important List of national parks of Algeria, national parks of Algeria. It is located in Batna Province on the slopes of the Belezma Range, a subrange ...

is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

on the slopes of the range. It is one of the most important

national parks of Algeria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

.Belezma National Park - Travel to Algeria
/ref>

Features

References

External links

* Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains Mountain ranges of Algeria Geography of Batna Province {{Batna-geo-stub