The Dahra Range () is a mountain range located in northern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

. 'Dahra' is an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

word meaning 'back'; in

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name o ...

this term indicates a long plateau of lesser altitude.

Geography

The Dahra is a low mountain chain part of the greater

Tell Atlas The Tell Atlas ( ar, الاطلس التلي, 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, with ends in both north-eastern ...

which stretches from Algiers in the east along the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

coast until reaching the mouth of the Chelif near

Mostaganem Mostaganem ( ber, Mustɣanem; ar, مستغانم) is a port city in and capital of Mostaganem province, in the northwest of Algeria. The city, founded in the 11th century lies on the Gulf of Arzew, Mediterranean Sea and is 72 km ENE of O ...

at its western end. Its tallest summit is 1,550 m high Mount Zaccar, north of

Miliana Miliana ( ar, مليانة) is a commune in Aïn Defla Province in northwestern Algeria. It is the administrative center of the daïra, or district, of the same name. It is approximately southwest of the Algerian capital, Algiers., which cov ...

, a town built on its slopes. The inhabitants of the area of the range are

Berber people , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber flag, Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , p ...

. The range is partly covered in Mediterranean forest, with scattered patches of cultivation. Daniel Babo, ''Algérie,'' Éditions le Sureau, coll. « Des hommes et des lieux » (), p. 45 The inhabitants of the Dahra Range are from Berber origin, descending from the Banou Ifren and the

Maghraouas The Maghrawa or Meghrawa ( ar, المغراويون) were a large Zenata Berber tribal confederation whose cradle and seat of power was the territory located on the Chlef in the north-western part of today's Algeria, bounded by the Ouarsenis to ...

References

External links

Massif des Dahra - Couleurs d'Algérie

Pleistocene Mazouna Stage in Western Algeria Containing Artifacts
Mountain ranges of Algeria {{Algeria-geo-stub