The Chréa National Park (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, 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 ...

:الحديقة الوطنية الشريعة) is one of the largest national parks of Algeria. It is located in

Blida Province Blida ( ar, ولاية البليدة) is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') in Algeria. Its capital is Blida. The Chréa National Park is situated here. History The province was created from parts of Alger (department) and El Asnam d ...

, named after Chréa, a town near this park. The park, located in a mountainous area known as the '' Blidean Atlas'' (which is part 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 ...

) includes the '' ski station of Chréa'', one of the few ski stations in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

where skiing can be done on natural snow, and the ''

grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

Chiffa Chiffa is a town and gorge in the Tell Atlas Mountains of northern Algeria. This gorge is one of the few habitat areas in Algeria that supports a sub-population of the Barbary macaque The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Ba ...

''. Founded in 1997, it covers an area of 36,985 hectares. The national park is home to over 1240 plant and animal species, such as the Atlas cedar (''Cedrus atlantica'') and the monkey (''Macaca sylvanus'').

Natural features

The Chréa National Park is home to a varied

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

. Its ancient Atlas cedar forests is

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

for a population of the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

Barbary macaque The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the ...

. This national park has one of the few such

areas in Algeria that support a sub-population of the

, ''Macaca sylvanus''.C. Michael Hogan, 2008

References

*C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

External links

Park data on UNEP-WPMCChréa National Park by Drone

Line notes

National parks of Algeria Biosphere reserves of Algeria Geography of Blida Province Protected areas established in 1985 Tourist attractions in Blida Province 1985 establishments in Algeria {{Africa-protected-area-stub