Jebel ech Chambi ( ''Jabal ash-Sha‘ānabī''; also Mount Ash-Sha'nabi) is a mountain peak in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. It has an elevation of and is the highest mountain in the country. It stands above the city of

Kasserine Kasserine ( ar, القصرين, al-Qasrīn, Tunisian Arabic: ڨصرين ') is the capital city of the Kasserine Governorate, in west-central Tunisia. It is situated below Jebel ech Chambi ( جبل الشعانبي), Tunisia's highest mountain. It ...

in western central Tunisia. The summit is covered by a pine forest and is part of Chambi National Park.

Description

Jebel ech Chambi is a peak of the Monts de Tébessa at the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains in the centre-west of Tunisia, north-west of the city of Kasserine and a few kilometres from the Algerian border. It can be reached by a track suitable for all-terrain vehicles to an altitude of . Afterwards, a two-hour hike provides access to the summit. It was

Les Scouts Tunisiens Les Scouts Tunisiens (in aeb, الكشافة التونسية; ''The Tunisian Scouts'') is the national Scouting organization of Tunisia. It was founded in 1934, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1957 and is ...

, in the aftermath of the country's independence in 1956, who placed a metal crescent, a symbol of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, to mark their ascent. This limestone mountain is deeply gouged and seared by erosion. It is composed of

caliche Caliche () is a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It occurs worldwide, in aridisol and mollisol soil orders—generally in arid or semiarid regions ...

, a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials together. There seem to have been three cycles of sedimentation, with the layers being separated by red bands of

palygorskite Palygorskite or attapulgite is a magnesium aluminium phyllosilicate with the chemical formula ) that occurs in a type of clay soil common to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the types of fuller's earth. Some smaller deposits of thi ...

, a clayey

detrital Detritus (; adj. ''detrital'' ) is particles of rock derived from pre-existing rock through weathering and erosion.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p G-7 A fragment of detritus is called a clast.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephe ...

deposit. Since December 2012, Jebel ech Chambi has been the theatre of many military operations of Tunisian armed forces against groups of Islamist terrorists hidden in the caves of the mountain.

Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

designated Jebel ech Chambi as a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in 1977. The total area of the reserve is , with a core area of . About 8,000 people live within the reserve, mostly subsistence farmers raising livestock, growing cereals, keeping bees and growing trees as a plantation crop. The core area was inaugurated as Chambi National Park in 1980 to protect the natural environment of the massif.Le Parc National Chambi
, Tunitrip

Ecology

Some plant communities on the mountain are dominated by holm oak, '' Stipa fontanesii'', '' Stipa senecia'', ''

Sorbus aria ''Sorbus aria'' (syn. ''Aria nivea''), the whitebeam or common whitebeam, is a deciduous tree, the type species of the subgenus ''Sorbus'' subg. ''Aria'' of the genus ''Sorbus''. It is native to most of Europe as well as North Africa (Algeria, Mo ...

'' and ''

Cotoneaster nummularius ''Cotoneaster nummularius,'' the nummular or coinwort cotoneaster is a species of cotoneaster. This woody shrub is native to much of Asia and south eastern Europe. Description ''Cotoneaster nummularius'' is a mountainous winter deciduous woody ...

''. Elsewhere, there are forests containing ''

Pinus halepensis ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exce ...

'', holm oak,

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...

, ''

Globularia alypum ''Globularia'' is a genus of about 22 species of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, native to central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. They are dense low evergreen mat-forming perennials o ...

'' and Phoenicean juniper. On the lower slopes are

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate gras ...

grassland with

esparto grass Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. '' Stipa tenacissima'' and '' Lygeum spart ...

. These mountains are one of the last places in which

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 survive, and

Barbary sheep The Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia''), also known as aoudad (pronounced �ɑʊdæd is a species of caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. While this is the only species in genus ''Ammotragus'', six subspecies have been descri ...

are also found here. Bird species include the

red crossbill The red crossbill or common crossbill (''Loxia curvirostra'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other ...

, the

Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture and the only member of the genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and ...

, the

Bonelli's eagle The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...

and the

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey bac ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jebel Ech Chambi Chambi Biosphere reserves of Tunisia Highest points of countries