The Saharan Atlas () is a range of the
Atlas Mountain System. It is located mainly in
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 ...
, with its eastern end in
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
. Although not as tall as the
High Atlas of
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
its summits are more imposing than the
Tell Atlas
The Tell Atlas (, 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, ending in north-eastern Morocco and north-western Tunisia. ...
range that runs parallel closer to the coast. The tallest peak in the range is the high
Djebel Aissa in the
Ksour Range.
Geography
The Saharan Atlas includes a series of subranges: the
Ksour Range in the west, the
Amour Range in its central and the
Ouled-Naïl Range at its eastern end.
It also includes the
Aurès
Aurès () is a natural region located in the mountainous area of the Aurès Mountains, Aurès range, in eastern Algeria. The region includes the provinces of Algeria, Algerian provinces of Batna Province, Batna, Tebessa Province, Tebessa, Consta ...
(
Belezma), the
Hodna Mountains
The Hodna Mountains (, ) are a mountain massif in northeastern Algeria. It rises on the northern side of the Hodna natural region in the M'Sila Province, near the town of Maadid around 200 km southeast of Algiers. These mountains are one of ...
, the Nememcha Range and the Zab Mountains. The Tell Atlas and the Saharan Atlas merge in the east to join together into the Tébessa Range and the Medjerda Mountains.
Bordered in the north by the ''
Hautes Plaines'', the Saharan Atlas is one of the vast plateaux of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, formed of ancient base rock covered by the sediment of shallow seas and
alluvial deposits.
Encyclopædia Britannica
The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
, 2005
Among the rivers of the Atlas, the Saharan Atlas feeds
wadi
Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...
s. Among these are the ''
Chelif'' and ''Touil'' wadis, riverbeds that contains water only during wet periods, respectively draining the ''Amour'' and ''Ouled-Naïl'' ranges of the Saharan Atlas.
The Saharan Atlas Mountains mark the northern edge of the
Sahara Desert
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
. The mountains see some rainfall and are better suited to agriculture than the
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
region to the north. Today most of the population of the region are
Chaoui
The Chaoui people or ''Shawyia'' (, ) are a Berbers, Berber ethnic group native to the Aurès region in northeastern Algeria.
They call themselves ''Išawiyen''/''Icawiyen'' (pronounced ) and speak the Shawiya language. They are the second larg ...
Berbers
Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...
. The
mountains
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 higher ...
have also long been home to exiles expelled from the fertile coastal regions.
See also
*
List of mountains in Algeria
*
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...
*
Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe
References
External links
Les montagnes d'atlasPersée - Notes de géographie physique algérienne
{{Mountains of Morocco
Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains
Mountain ranges of Algeria