The Ouled Naïl Range (, ) is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, part of the Saharan Atlas of the greater Atlas Mountain System. The range is named after a confederation of

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

and semi-nomadic tribes, all of which claim to hail from Arab ancestors of Banu Hilal origin.

Geography

The Ouled Naïl mountain range is formed by parallel ridges rising between the level 850 m high terrain of the Hodna region of the '' Hautes Plaines'' in the north and the 600 m of the southern plain of the ''Dayas''. It is located in the eastern zone of the Saharan Atlas, with the Amour Range in the western and the Zab Range at the eastern end. The range is formed by mountains created by folds of the early

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

which remained relatively undisturbed after formation but have been heavily eroded. Their altitude is relatively moderate, the highest point of the range, Djebel Lazrag (جبل الأزرق), not even reaching 1,500 m. However, towards the south the look of the highest ridges is quite spectacular, with jagged

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

outcrops and almost vertical walls. The part facing the Sahara has a less encumbered terrain with smooth mountaintops separated by

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a pract ...

s.Géographie de l'Afrique du Nord - L'Atlas Saharien
/ref> The climate is dry in all the surrounding areas, but the rainfall is slightly better on the mountains. Therefore, cereal cultivation is possible in the heights, although with rather irregular results.

Date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

s are mostly absent throughout the range owing to the prevailing cold temperatures. They only grow in the few places at the feet of the Ouled Naïl mountains that are at an altitude below 600 m, such as near Bou Saada and the Oued Djedi.

Human presence

Two important towns are located in the immediate area of the range, Bou-Saada to the north at the feet of the mountains and Djelfa in the middle of the range at an elevation of 1,208 m. North of Djelfa town there is an imposing physical feature known as '' Rocher de Sel'' (English: Salt Rock) that was formed from the erosion of

rock salt Halite ( ), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

s and

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

s by rain. To the west of the town

Megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

funerary structures are found. Neolithic art is widespread in different caves and walls throughout the range. The range is well known for the Ouled Naïl people living in its cold highlands. Djelfa is an important market centre for the Ouled Naïl who live in black-and-red striped tents and claim ancient Arab descent. These semi-nomadic or nomadic people have traditionally reared cattle in the mountain grasslands.A Different Perspective of Algeria
/ref> The years of drought and years with prolonged, cold winters are hard times for the Ouled Nail; in 1944 and 1947 about 50% of their livestock died.

Features

References

External links

*
Algeria - BiodiversityA. Bernard, ''Les régions naturelles de l'Algérie''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouled Nail Range Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains Geography of Laghouat Province Geography of Djelfa Province Geography of M'Sila Province Historical regions Mountain ranges of Algeria

Geography

Human presence

Features

See also

References

External links