The Bibans or Biban Range (, Kabylian: ''Tiggoura'', or ''Les Bibans'') are a chain of mountains in northern

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 ...

, bordering the south of

Kabylie Kabylia or Kabylie (; in Kabyle language, Kabyle: Tamurt n leqbayel; in Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ; ), meaning "Land of the Tribes" is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kaby ...

Geography

The highest summits are 1862 m high

Mansoura Mansoura (; ', , rural: ) is a city in Egypt located on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile river. The city is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic ...

() and 1832 m high Choukchout (). Located to the east of the Blidean Atlas and to the west of 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 Bibans are a subrange of the Tell Atlas, part of the Atlas Mountain System. The strategic Iron Gates mountain passes are located in the range and gave their name to the Biban Mountains. The main

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

is the deep Bab al-Kabir (Big Door), cut by the Ouadi Chebba, through which the railway line between

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

and Constantine passes. The Bab al-Saghir (Little Door) of the Oadi Buktun is located 3.5 km to the east. Some authors claim that the range was known as ''El Ouennougha'' before the French colonization of Algeria. Traditionally these mountains have been populated by Kabyle people. In present days the Kabyle populations are found in the centre and the eastern part of the range, while the western end is home to Arabophone communities. Local people use to practice goat rearing and

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

, as well as growing olives for the production of

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

. Ancient oil mills have been preserved in certain villages.

Protected areas

The 200,000 ha Saharan Atlas National Park 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 ...

located near Hammam Dhalaa on the southeastern side of the range, 15 km north of M'Sila. Established in 1992, it is a refuge for about hundred Cuvier's gazelles.David P. Mallon, Steven Charles Kingswood eds. ''Antelopes: North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.'' p. 27

References

External links

* {{Mountains of Algeria , state=collapsed Mountain ranges of Algeria Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains National parks of Algeria

Geography

Protected areas

See also

References

External links