The Jbel Saghro or Djebel Sahrho (, ) is a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
in south- east
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 located south of the
High Atlas and east of the
Anti-Atlas in the northwest of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, northeast of
Taliouine and southwest of Ouarzazate.
Geography
The Jbel Saghro is an eastern prolongation of the Anti-Atlas, separated from it by the valley of the
Draâ
:''Dra is also the abbreviation for the constellation Draco (constellation), Draco.''
The Draa (, ; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara, ) is Morocco's longest river, at . It is formed by the confluence of the Dadè ...
. To the north of the range runs the valley of the
Dadès, separating it from the massive High Atlas Range.
''Saɣru'' in the
Tamazight language
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 ...
means ''drought'', an apt name considering that the Jbel Saghro is the driest mountain area of the whole
Atlas Mountain System. Since it is located in the inland side of the greater range this massif does not benefit from the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
winds that bring humidity to the Anti-Atlas ranges further to the west as well as other ocean-facing ranges further north. Annual rainfall is only 100 mm in the southern slopes and 300 mm at the summits. However, the desolation of the harsh landscapes of the massive dry mountains with the many areas of bare rock and the austere, lunar beauty does not leave anyone unimpressed. Therefore these mountain area is popular with trekkers and adventure-tourists.
The range's high point is the 2712m
Amalou n'Mansour, located southeast of Iknioun; other notable peaks are 2,592 m high ''Jbel Kouaouch'', ''Jbel Afougal'' (2,196 m) and ''Jbel Amlal'' (2,447 m). One of the most important mountain passes of the range is the 2,283 m high
Tizi n'Tazazert.
Jbel Saghro is a traditional home of the
Aït Atta 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 ...
tribe. It is sparsely inhabited, the only notable village in the massif being Iknioun, near Amalou n'Mansour. It is linked by asphalt roads to Boumalne Dades and Tinerhir on the N10 highway, and Nkob to the south. Prehistoric rock engravings can be found in parts of the range.
Nomads
The Jbel Saghro area is home to nomad families who spend their winters in the region. They are semi-nomadic and migrate to Ait Bougemez (Paradise Valley) in the summer with their flocks of sheep and goats, using camels, mules and donkeys to transport their belongings. Their numbers are dwindling as they move to more permanent bases to find a less difficult life and ensure that their children are educated.
[Trekking Maroc Atlas]
Features
See also
* Anti-Atlas
* Dadès Gorges
*Geography of Morocco
Morocco is the northwesternmost country which spans from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean on the north and the west respectively, into large mountainous areas in the interior, to the Sahara desert in the far south. Morocco is a Norther ...
References
External links
*
Trekking across the Jbel SarhroTravelling through the Jbel Sarhro by mule
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of Morocco
Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains