Tazekka National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. It was created in 1950 with an initial area of 6.8 km² to protect the natural resources around Jbel Tazekka (elevation 1,980 m), particularly the grove of cedars (''

Cedrus atlantica ''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 F ...

''), which are isolated on this peak in the

Middle Atlas The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region ...

range. In 1989, the park was extended to include nearly 120 km² of ecologically important areas, including forests of cork oak and holm oak, as well as canyons, caves, cascades, and rural landscapes.

Access

Tazekka National Park is located in the

, near the city of

Taza Taza ( ber, ⵜⴰⵣⴰ, ar, تازة) 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 west of Al hoceima. It recorded a population of 148 ...

Climate

Atmospheric moisture condenses as it is orographically lifted over the mountain. As a result, the mountain frequently shows a cap cloud and annually receives approximately 180 cm of precipitation, particularly in the form of snow.

Fauna

Mammals are represented by

North African boar The Barbary wild boar (''Sus scrofa algira'') is a smaller subspecies of wild boar native to North Africa including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It is a prey animal for past and present predators of the Atlas Mountains, such as striped hyenas, ...

s (''Sus scrofa algira''),

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

s (''Hystrix cristata''), otters (''Lutra lutra''),

small-spotted genet The common genet (''Genetta genetta'') is a small viverrid Indigenous (ecology), indigenous to Africa that was introduced to southwestern Europe. It is widely distributed north of the Sahara, in savanna zones south of the Sahara to southern Afri ...

s (''Genetta genetta''), hares (''Lepus capensis''), African wolves (''Canis anthus algirensis''), and

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

es (''Vulpes vulpes'').

Barbary leopard The African leopard (''Panthera pardus pardus'') is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of ...

s (''Panthera pardus panthera''), striped hyenas (''Hyaena hyaena'') and

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

s (''Caracal caracal''), which were found once in the area, are extinct. The

Barbary stag The Barbary stag (''Cervus elaphus barbarus''), also known as the Atlas deer or African elk, is a subspecies of the red deer that is native to North Africa. It is the only deer known to be native to Africa, aside from '' Megaceroides algericus'', ...

(''Cervus elaphus barbarus'') was extinct as well, but has been reintroduced recently.
Flora and Fauna
' - Park National de Tazekka, (official web page of the National Park).

References

External links

*
Official website
{{authority control National parks of Morocco Protected areas established in 1950 Atlas Mountains Geography of Fès-Meknès