Atlas Mountains

Atlas Mountains, mountain system, north-western Africa, consisting of several distinct ranges, extending between Tunisia and Morocco, a distance of about 2,400 km (1,500 mi). Geologically, the system is made of two separate parts: the High Atlas of the south-west, in Morocco, was formed by the folding of the ancient Saharan plateau, while the eastern Tell Atlas, in Algeria and Tunisia, was formed in a later, separate folding episode contemporary with the formation of the Alpine system of Europe. The High, or Grand, Atlas, is the loftiest part of the system. Mount Toubkal, with an elevation of 4,165 m (13,665 ft), is the highest peak in this range. Lying to the north, in central Morocco, is the next loftiest range, the Middle Atlas, with a maximum elevation of about 3,350 m (11,000 ft).

Other prominent ranges of the system include the Anti-Atlas (maximum elevation, about 2,060 m/6,750 ft), south of and parallel to the High Atlas; the Saharan Atlas, extending from eastern Morocco into Algeria, with a maximum elevation (Jebel Chelia) of 2,328 m (7,638 ft); and the Tell, or Maritime, Atlas averaging about 1,520 m (5,000 ft) in elevation and extending along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea from a point near the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar to Cape Bon, in Tunisia. Jebel Sidi Musa (ancient Abila or Abyla), a promontory (846 m/2,775 ft) marking the western extremity of the Little Atlas, and the Rock of Gibraltar (see Gibraltar), on the European side of the strait, were known in the ancient world as the Pillars of Hercules.

The Atlas system is traversed by numerous passes that provide routes between the coast and the Sahara. The northern slopes of the High Atlas and the northern and southern slopes of the Middle Atlas are densely forested; cedar, pine, cork, and oak are the predominant species of trees. Fertile valleys and extensive tracts of pasturage lie in these ranges and other sections of the system. The ranges contain a wide variety of mineral deposits, including gold, silver, lead, zinc, iron, manganese, antimony, phosphates, and petroleum, but these resources are only slightly exploited.

The Atlas Mountains are the traditional habitat of the Berbers, who were driven inland to the mountains by the Arabs in the 7th century. Sections of the system, chiefly in the coastal areas, were known to the Europeans of antiquity, but not until the second half of the 19th century was systematic exploration of the various ranges begun.