The Bibans or Biban Range ( ar, البيبان, Kabylian: ''Tiggoura'', french: Chaîne des Bibans or ''Les Bibans'') are a chain of mountains in northern

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

, bordering the south of

Kabylie Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of ...

Geography

The highest summits are 1862 m high

Mansoura Mansoura (' , rural: ) is a city in Egypt, with a population of 960,423. It is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle against Louis IX of Fr ...

() and 1832 m high Choukchout (). Located to the east of the Blidean Atlas and to the west of 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 ...

, the Bibans are a subrange 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 ...

, part of the

Atlas Mountain System The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

. The strategic

Iron Gates The Iron Gates ( ro, Porțile de Fier; sr, / or / ; Hungarian: ''Vaskapu-szoros'') is a gorge on the river Danube. It forms part of the boundary between Serbia (to the south) and Romania (north). In the broad sense it encompasses a ...

mountain passes are located in the range and gave their name to the Biban Mountains. The main

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

is the deep Bab al-Kabir (Big Door), cut by the Ouadi Chebba, through which the railway line between

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

and Constantine passes. The Bab al-Saghir (Little Door) of the Oadi Buktun is located 3.5 km to the east. Some authors claim that the range was known as ''El Ouennougha'' before the French colonization of Algeria. Traditionally these mountains have been populated by

Kabyle people The Kabyle people ( kab, Izwawen or ''Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', ) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking populat ...

. In present days the Kabyle populations are found in the centre and the eastern part of the range, while the western end is home to

Arabophone Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

communities. Local people use to practice goat rearing and

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus ''Apis (insect), Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees ar ...

, as well as growing

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

for the production of

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

. Ancient oil mills have been preserved in certain villages.

Protected areas

The 200,000 ha

Saharan Atlas National Park 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 ...

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 ...

located near Hammam Dhalaa on the southeastern side of the range, 15 km north of

M'Sila M'sila (also spelled Msila) ( ar, المسيلة); is the capital of M'Sila Province, Algeria, and is co-extensive with M'sila District. It has a population of 132,975 as per the 2008 census. M'sila University is also located in this city. Hist ...

. Established in 1992, it is a refuge for about hundred

Cuvier's gazelle Cuvier's gazelle (''Gazella cuvieri'') is a species of gazelle native to Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, and Tunisia. It is also known as the edmi.

s.David P. Mallon, Steven Charles Kingswood eds. ''Antelopes: North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.'' p. 27

References

External links

* Mountain ranges of Algeria Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains {{Algeria-geo-stub National parks of Algeria

Geography

Protected areas

See also

References

External links