Kediet ej Jill () is a
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...
in
Tiris Zemmour
Tiris Zemmour ( ar, ولاية تيرس زمور) is the northernmost region of Mauritania. Its capital is Zouérat. Other major cities/towns include F'dérik and Bir Moghrein. The region borders Algeria to the north-east, Mali to east, the Mau ...
,
Mauritania, with the city of
Zouérat
Zouérat ( ar, الزويرات) is the largest town in northern Mauritania and the capital of Tiris Zemmour region, with an approximate population of 44,649 (2013). It lies at the eastern end of the Mauritania Railway to Nouadhibou.
History
...
on its east and
Fderick at west. At tall, Kediet ej Jill includes the highest peak in Mauritania.
The mountain and its surrounding area are rich in
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
deposits, thought to have been mined here since the 11th century and commercially exploited since 1952. The current mines are connected to
Nouadhibou
Nouadhibou (; ar, نواذيبو, Nwādībū, Berber: Nwadibu, formerly in French: ) is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 118,000 inhabitants expanding to over 140,000 in the l ...
on the Atlantic coast by a 700-km long
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
.
The mountain appears bluish because of the high concentration of
magnetite
Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With th ...
, an iron ore and a natural magnet.
[''European Space Agency'']
esa.int
(access: August 2 2020) Owing to its inherent magnetic properties, the mountain disrupts navigational compasses. Similar magnetic fields allowed the discovery of other deposits in the region (magnetite guelbs) in the 1960s.
References
External links
*
Landforms of Mauritania
Tiris Zemmour Region
Highest points of countries
Inselbergs of Africa
{{mauritania-geo-stub