The Belezma Range, also transliterated as Belzma (), is a prolongation of the

Aurès Mountains The Aures Mountains (, known in antiquity as ) are a subrange of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria. The mountain range gives its name to the mountainous natural and historical region of the Aurès. Geography The Aures mountains are the ...

, at the confluence of 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. ...

and the

Saharan Atlas The Saharan Atlas () is a range of the Atlas Mountain System. It is located mainly in Algeria, with its eastern end in Tunisia. Although not as tall as the High Atlas of Morocco its summits are more imposing than the Tell Atlas range that runs p ...

in northeastern

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 ...

. It is separated from the main Aurès Range by the Batna-

El Kantara El Kantara (''El Kantara'' "الكنترة" word comes from Latin "Centuriation" ( Derja: meaning a bridge) ) is a town and commune in Biskra Province, Algeria. The 1911 Baedeker travel guide described it as "one of the most important caravan-sta ...

basin.

Geography and vegetation

The ridge is roughly aligned in an E-W direction. It is located at the western end of the Aurès Range, with 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 ...

to the west. The highest peak, at , is the

Djebel Refâa : ''For mountains or other uses, see: Jabal.'' Djebel (1937–1958) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse, who won 15 of 22 races during 1939–1942 including the Prix d'Essai, 2000 Guineas and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was later a leading sir ...

. Other important peaks are high Djebel Tichaou and Djebel Touggourt (meaning 'Cedar Peak'). The Belezma Range has one of the most important natural

Atlas Cedar ''Cedrus atlantica'', the Atlas cedar, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae, native to the Rif and Atlas Mountains of Morocco ( Middle Atlas, High Atlas), and to the Tell Atlas in Algeria.Gaussen, H. (1964). Genre ''Cedrus''. Les ...

forests of Algeria. It is qualified as a 'dry facies' pure forest owing to its location and the influence of the large deserts nearby, being located only north of the

gorges, and there has been a high mortality of the trees in recent times. The Belezma mountains have been traditionally inhabited by the ''Houaras''

Chaoui people The Chaoui people or ''Shawyia'' (, ) are a 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 largest Tel ...

. There is very low population density in the area and villages are few.

Belezma Plain

The Belezma Plain () is an elevated

intermontane Intermontane is a physiographic adjective formed from the prefix " inter-" (''signifying among, between, amid, during, within, mutual, reciprocal'') and the adjective "montane" (inhabiting, or growing in mountainous regions, especially cool, mo ...

basin located to the Northwest between the area of the National Park and Mount Mestaoua. Its main town is

Merouana Merouana (Tamazight: Tamerwant) is a city in Batna Province, Algeria. It is situated around 40 km from Batna City, and is inhabited by the Chaoui Berbers. Merouana is one of the oldest local daïras (districts). It is the capital of the ...

at over sea level. The plain is one of the most fertile areas in the region and has traditionally been a granary for the local population. Mount Mestaoua, a veritable natural fortress, is a historical

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

History

The

Ksar Ksar or qṣar (), in plural ksour or qsour (), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh). The equivalent Berber languages, Berber term used is ' ( ...

of Belezma () to the north of the range is the site of an ancient

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

fortress. The now ruined structure was once used as an observation outpost by the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

dynasties that followed the Byzantine domination. This massif was the last refuge of

Abu Yazid Abū Yazīd Makhlad ibn Kaydād Dajjal (; – 19 August 947), was a member of the Ibadi sect. He opposed the Ismaili Shia rule of the Fatimids in North Africa and sought to restore Ibadi dominance in the region. Known as the Man on the Donke ...

before his death.

Protected areas

The

Belezma National Park The Belezma National Park (Arabic:الحظيرة الوطنية بلزمة) is one of the most important List of national parks of Algeria, national parks of Algeria. Created in 1984, it is located in Batna Province on the slopes of the Belezma R ...

is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

on the slopes of the range. It is one of the most important

national parks of Algeria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

.Belezma National Park - Travel to Algeria
/ref>

Features

References

External links

* Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains Mountain ranges of Algeria Geography of Batna Province {{Batna-geo-stub