The Middle Atlas (

Amazigh 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 Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their u ...

: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵚ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'',

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in

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 ...

. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region with more than 100,000 km², 15 percent of its landmass, rising above 2,000 metres. The Middle Atlas is the northernmost and second highest of three main Atlas Mountains chains of Morocco. To south, separated by the Moulouya and Um Er-Rbiâ rivers, lies the High Atlas. The Middle Atlas form the westernmost end of a large plateaued basin extending eastward into

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 ...

, also bounded by 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. ...

to the north and the Saharan Atlas to the south, both lying largely in Algeria. North of the Middle Atlas and separated by the Sebou River, lie the

Rif The Rif (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people ...

mountains which are an extension of the Baetic System, which includes the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

in the south of Spain. The basin of the Sebou is not only the primary transportation route between Atlantic Morocco and Mediterranean Morocco but is an area, watered by the Middle Atlas range, that constitutes the principal agricultural region of the country. The

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

is native to the Middle Atlas, and chief populations occur only in restricted range in parts of Morocco and Algeria. Snow persists in the Middle Atlas in the winter and can appear starting at 600 m above sea level.

Geography and ecology

The Middle Atlas provinces cover 23,000 km² in area, and comprise 18% of the total mountainous surface of Morocco. The provinces of Khénifra, Ifrane, Boulmane,

Sefrou Sefrou () is a city in central Morocco situated in the Fès-Meknès region. It recorded a population of 79,887 in the 2014 Moroccan census, up from 63,872 in the 2004 census. Sefrou is known for its historical Jewish population, and its annual che ...

, Khemisset, El Hajeb as well as parts of the provinces of

Taza Taza () is a city in northern Morocco occupying the corridor between the Rif mountains and Middle Atlas mountains, about 120 km east of Fez and 150 km south of Al Hoceima. It recorded a population of 148,406 in the 2019 Moroccan ...

and of

Beni Mellal Beni Mellal () is a city in north-central Morocco. It is the capital of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra Region and has a population of 192,676 (2014 census). It sits at the foot of Jbel Tassemit (2247 m), next to the plains of Beni Amir. The modern ...

lie in the Middle Atlas region. Béni Mellal on the Oum Er-Rbia River is designated "the doorway to the Middle Atlas". The Middle Atlas is a solid mountainous mass of 350 km in length in the north-east of

with a unique charm. Its

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, both in fauna and flora, make Middle Atlas a significant tourist destination. The region is noted for occurrence 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, inv ...

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

, ''Macaca sylvanus''; this monkey

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

ally had a much wider distribution throughout northern Morocco.

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

and polecat are also found within the Middle Atlas Range. Its geo-morphologic structure is: * Primarily

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) ...

. * Tabled rock in the west, running to elevations of 800 to 1,000 metres. * Folded rock toward the northeast and running to elevations exceeding 3000 m, with a highest point, the Jbel Bou Naceur at 3340 m. * Interspersed with

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

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. ...

s. Over the mountain slopes, extensive forests of cedar spread, intersected by deep valleys. Bordered by the rich Plaine du Saïs and the cities of Fes,

Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...

and

, the mountainous reaches of the Middle Atlas are the stronghold of

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

tribes, speaking

Tamazight The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related but mostly mutually unintelligible languages spoken by Berber communities, who ar ...

and living at very low population densities. The Middle Atlas is crossed by one of the principal access roads to the south of Morocco, connecting Fes with Tafilalet. Located at the northeast of

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

. The Middle Atlas ends in the east at Tazekka National Park,Tazekka National Park, created in 1950, covers 137.37 km² with a landscape replete with narrow canyons and caves. In the south of

, the forests of cedars, of holm oak and of

cork oak ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork (material), cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, ...

alternate with plates

stripped and small full of fish lakes. The jewel of the Middle Atlas is the Ifrane National Park, located between Khenifra and Ifrane. The highest point of the Middle Atlas is Jbel Bou Naceur (3340 m). 15 km north west lies second highest mountain massif of Moussa ou Sabel (3172 m) and Jbel Bou Iblane (3081 m), which lies close to Immouzer Marmoucha.

Climate

Because of its elevation, the Middle Atlas experiences snow during the winter months and a cool climate during the summer. The town of Ifrane enjoys sufficient snow during the winter months that it provides accommodations quite rare in Africa: it is a ski resort.

Major catchments

The Middle Atlas includes four major catchment areas: *The basin of Sebou: of a surface of approximately 40,000 km², discharging to the Atlantic Ocean. *The basin of Oum Errabiaa: extends on a surface from 35,000 km², discharging to the Atlantic Ocean. *The basin of

Bou Regreg The Bou Regreg () is a river located in western Morocco which discharges into the Atlantic Ocean between the cities of Rabat and Salé. The estuary of this river is termed Wadi Sala. The river is 240 kilometres long, with a tidal estuary of ap ...

: cover a surface of about 10,000 km², discharging to the Atlantic Ocean. *The basin of Moulouya: takes its source in the Almssid region and drains both the Middle and the High Atlas, with a watershed of 74,000 km², discharging to the Mediterranean. The Middle Atlas contributes abundant and the relatively regular flows to these rivers. Reservoirs have been developed for flood control, to improve tourism, and to create water reserves supporting the development of the arboriculture important to the agricultural industry of the region.

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
* Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 2006. ''World and Its Peoples'', Published by Marshall Cavendish, ,

Line notes

External links