Atlas Mountains (Atlas)

This sightseeing attraction is related to the countries:MoroccoMorocco , AlgeriaTunisia

The Atlas Mountains are a large mountain system in northwest Africa, stretching from the Atlantic coast of Morocco through Algeria to the coast of Tunisia. The length of the ridges is 2,092 kilometers. The highest point, Mount Toubkal (4167 m), is located in southwestern Morocco.

. Contents

General Information

Originally, only the part of the mountain system within ancient Mauretania, that is, the west and center of modern Atlas, was called Atlas.

.

The Atlas Mountains separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts from the Sahara Desert. They are inhabited mainly by Arabs and Berbers (Morocco), including Kabylians (Algeria).

.

The Atlas Mountains consist of the following ranges:

.
  • Tell Atlas,
  • High Atlas,
    • .
  • Middle Atlas,
    • .
  • Saharan Atlas,
    • .
  • Interior plateaus (High Plateaus, Moroccan Meseta) and plains.
.

The High Atlas Mountains are home to the last of those Berbers who have fully preserved their traditions. The natural beauty here is some of the most spectacular in the Maghreb, making this region very popular with hikers. The remote and isolated mountain peaks are covered in snow most of the year.

.

Origin of the mountains

The Atlas Mountains are the mountains of Africa, with many legends associated with their origin.

.

Legend of the titan Atlas

The ancient Greek legends and poems of Homer (between the 12th and 7th centuries B.C.) tell the story of the great titan Atlas. It was believed that he lived in the far west, for which the Greeks at that time could take the African coast, and had great power – such that it was enough to support the pillars separating the vault of the sky from the earth (this is how our distant ancestors imagined the place and view of the earth in space). He was connected with the ocean and was considered a sea titan insidious and unruly. But he also had a solution: Atlas, who in some legends was also called the African king, had the indiscretion to refuse hospitality to the legendary Greek hero Perseus. And Perseus at that time was already the owner of the magic head of the Gorgon Medusa, which turned anyone who looked at it into stone. Annoyed by Atlas’ behavior, Perseus showed the titan Medusa’s ill-fated head and turned him into the African mountain Atlas. Myths are myths, but in the northwest of Africa, where it seems that Atlas lived, there is a long range – the Atlas Mountains.

.

Under this name they are known in Europe, but the local population does not have a single name – only the names of individual ranges.

.

Geology

The Atlas is an entire mountainous country. It stretches from the shores of the Atlantic, crossing the African continent from west to east almost along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (the Tell Atlas range). It is so long that here the belts change from tropical to subtropical, providing very contrasting landscapes: mountains and traces of ancient glaciation on their highest peaks, flowering oases, desert (the Saharan Range), rivers and sebhi (salt lakes).

.

In the north and west, the vegetation up to altitudes of 800 m resembles the usual forests typical of the Mediterranean: picturesque thickets of evergreen shrubs and cork oak remind one of southern Europe. The south and the interior are characterized by an arid climate, so that cereal plants, grasses and wormwood mainly survive here. Higher belts form evergreen forests of cork and stone oak (up to 1200 m), above (up to 1700 m) they are joined by maples and conifers. Even higher (after 2200 m) these forests are replaced by coniferous forests, dominated by a valuable, drought-resistant and pest-free species of construction tree – Atlas cedar, which since 1842 began to be cultivated in Europe and for ornamental purposes.

.

The Atlas Mountain country is separated from the African tectonic platform by a fault in its southern part (the South Atlas Rift).

.

Another fault runs along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is this fault that provokes earthquakes in this part of the range.

.

The Atlas was formed in three phases. The first phase of deformation (in the Paleozoic) affected only the Anti-Atlas as a result of the collision of the continents. The second phase during the Mesozoic formed most of the present-day High Atlas, then resting on the ocean floor. The Tertiary period brought the Atlas to the surface.

.

Deposits of iron ores and copper, iron and lead, lime, rock salt, and marble are mined in the mountains.

.

Population

The rugged mountains with their capricious climate are not an uninhabited region: there are rivers (especially in the northwest) along which settlements have long been formed. The local rivers, fed by rainwater and often of a “temporary” nature, are called Ouedes by the Arabs. Even floods occur on them – in winter, but in summer they dry up almost completely, especially in the southern and inland areas.

.

To live in such conditions adapted to the Berbers (indigenous peoples of North Africa), who have survived all the historical vicissitudes of the region and remained steadfast inhabitants of the unfriendly mountains. There are differences in their language and way of life. The Berbers of the western Atlas Mountains are called Shillukh. They lead a more sedentary life, living in houses, farming and successfully mastering a number of crafts. Their villages are most often scattered far apart from each other.

>

Farming requires Herculean labor, as one must first establish a plot of land. There is often no soil on the stony, weathered slopes of the mountains, so future farmers search for places in the hollows, where the soil has been washed or deposited, and from there carry it in baskets on their heads to their plot. The precious soil is placed in special terraces, which are hollowed out in the rocks. This soil must then be watched over so that it is not washed away by the rain. The plots can be so small that it is impossible to cultivate them with a plow and everything has to be done manually.

.

The inhabitants of such villages are also engaged in sheep breeding. But their neighbors from the eastern part of the mountains – Masigi – still live in caves and tents, which is probably more convenient for their active movements, because Masigi are excellent cattle breeders: the stunted vegetation of the slopes serves as fodder for cattle. It is possible to go up to higher valleys where the grass is more succulent. Some Berber tribes are exclusively pastoralists, but they have permanent villages to which they return after grazing in the mountains, where they live in temporary camps.

The Berbers represent mainly the Moroccan part of the mountain dwellers. On the Algerian side, however, the Kabils (a local variety of Berber) have also developed them. In recent times, people have noticeably affected the landscape – in the north, closer to the coast, there is less natural vegetation, increased the area of artificially irrigated land on which grow citrus, cereals, cultivate olive and eucalyptus trees, date palms. And peach and apricot orchards, pomegranate plantations and vineyards can now be seen near private buildings. These interventions in the ecosystem have even created a number of problems: for example, the removal of forests has led to soil erosion in places.

.

Exploring the mountains

The existence of these mountains was discussed by the Phoenicians, who were actively traveling around the world, and then by the ancient Greeks. And the Romans – in 42 AD the mountains were crossed by the Roman commander Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (I century). And in the II century Greek wandering philosopher, orator and writer Maximus of Tyre had already made a fairly detailed for that time description of the mountains.

.

But the world scientific community was able to significantly expand its understanding of this mountainous country only by the XIX century, when the outstanding German explorer of Africa Gerhard Rolfe (1831-1896) crossed the High Atlas under the guise of a Muslim in the service of the Moroccan sultan, studied the largest oases and delved into the Sahara from the side of Algeria. It was he who greatly refined the map of the ranges and from the descriptions of his routes and impressions he created two books.

Tourists began to follow the explorers here, attracted by sunrises and sunsets in the mountains, beautiful views, many migratory birds, mountain oases (like Shebik in Tunisia), pockets of life in the desert (like the Saouf group of oases in Algeria), the date oases of Morocco and the palace of the Pasha of Marrakech, Thami el Glaoui.

.

Interesting facts

  • Normally, monkeys (macaques) settle in temperate latitudes and prefer Asia. But the Atlas Mountains are home to the only species that not only lives in this difficult climate, but is also the only monkey species that lives naturally in southern Europe (in Gibraltar) – these are magotes, Barbary monkeys, or Berberian (Maghreb) macaques. Moreover, the region of the Atlas Mountains is considered their homeland. One version even admits that earlier this species lived in different regions of Europe, and the colony in Gibraltar – just the only thing that remains. Magoths have some notable behaviors. For example, males can choose a favorite from among not only their own, but also other people’s cubs, and then they will be groomed in every possible way and proudly show their mates. The cubs are also shown to enemies – in Magotho this diplomatic technique can reduce the aggression of the enemy.
    • .
  • Atlas cedar oil is an excellent antiseptic and a means of breaking down fat. It has long been used for medicinal purposes, for making mummifying balms and is still used in cosmetology and perfumery.
  • A local wild grain called “alpha” can be used to make high-grade paper: its fibers give the so-called “false horsehair”, suitable even for weaving. In some places it is tried to be grown on purpose.
  • The eminent British politician Winston Churchill is also little known as an artist: his only painting of World War II is believed to have been painted in 1943 during his meeting with American President Theodore Roosevelt in Casablanca, watching the sun set over the Atlas Mountains from this Moroccan city.
    • .
  • Even in the extreme heat, reaching up to +40°C, locals can be seen wearing warm jackets and knitted hats with a piece of cardboard instead of a visor In a hot and dry climate, warm clothes are as useful as in the cold.
    • .
  • There may have been a bear in North Africa up until the late 19th century. The Atlas brown bear just lived in the range of the Atlas Mountains and areas that have now become part of the Sahara Desert, as evidenced by fossilized remains.
  • One village in the Atlas Mountains was the location of the first movie set of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The actors had to acclimatize in order to adapt to filming at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters.
  • In the Atlas Mountains there is an amazing butterfly – peacock-eye atlas, whose wingspan can reach 30 cm, because of which from afar it is sometimes mistaken for a bird. She scares off her enemies with a specific coloration: the edge of the front wing is curved and colored in such a way that it resembles the head of a snake.
    • .
  • For hundreds of years, the Berbers of the Atlas Mountains have been using a local breed of dog, the Atlas sheepdog, or aidi, to help herd their livestock and protect their personal property. These human helpers are called different names in different parts of the country: aidi in Morocco, Kabyle dogs and shawya in Algeria.
.