The Edough Massif, Edough Mountains or Djebel Edough ( ar, جبل إيدوغ, links=, lit=, translit=Ǧabal Īdūḡ; ber, script=Tfng, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴷⴷⵓⵖ, links=, lit=, translit=, label=) is a mountain range of the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
area in
Northern Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
.
Geography
These mountains are a segment 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 ...
alpine chain of eastern
Algeria
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, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
that is part of the wider
Atlas Range. The Edough Massif stretches between the
Cap de Garde and the
Cap de Fer.
The highest point of the
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
is the
Bou Zizi (1008 m), located between
Annaba
Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...
and
El Marsa.
Geologically, these mountains are a
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
crystalline
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
metamorphic
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...
core complex.
Ecology
The Edough Massif has a
Mediterranean forest cover where the
cork oak
''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...
''(Quercus suber)'', a hardy Mediterranean tree, predominates. Snow is not rare in the winter and the mountains are often covered with fog, which allows ferns to grow among the undergrowth.
The forest of the Edough Massif is very vulnerable to
wildfires
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
. Vast surfaces have been burned in the last decades.
The Edough Massif was the last home of the
lion ''(Panthera leo)'' in North Africa. The last lion of Algeria was killed in the Edough Massif in 1890.
The massif is also the natural habitat of the
Edough ribbed newt (''Pleurodeles poireti''), an
endangered species. The
vulnerable North African Fire Salamander ''(Salamandra algira)'' is also found in the range. ''
Edoughnura'', a genus of
springtails belonging to the
Neanuridae subfamily, is named after this range.
Edoughnura rara n.gen., n.sp., an enigmatic genus of Neanurinae
/ref>
Features
See also
*List of mountains in Algeria
This is a list of mountains in the country of Algeria.
See also
* Ahaggar Mountains
* Teffedest Mountains
* Khachna Mountains
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Mountains In Algeria
Mountains of Algeria, *
Lists of mountains of Algeria, ...
References
External links
*
Geological data
Mountain ranges of Algeria
Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains
{{regional-geology-stub