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| High Atlas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Jbel Toubkal |
| Elevation | 4,167 m (13,671 ft) |
| Coordinates | 31°03′43″N7°54′58″W / 31.06194°N 7.91611°W /31.06194; -7.91611 |
| Geography | |
 Location of the Atlas Mountains acrossNorth Africa | |
| Country | Morocco |
| Range coordinates | 31°26′N6°56′W / 31.433°N 6.933°W /31.433; -6.933 |
| Parent range | Atlas Mountain System |
TheHigh Atlas, also called theGrand Atlas, is amountain range in centralMorocco,North Africa, the highest part of theAtlas Mountains.
The High Atlas rises in the west at theAtlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. At the Atlantic and to the southwest the range drops abruptly and makes an impressive transition to the coast and theAnti-Atlas range. To the north, in the direction ofMarrakech, the range descends less abruptly.
The range includesJbel Toubkal, which at 4,167 m (2.589 miles; 13,671 ft) is the highest in the range and lies inToubkal National Park.The range serves as a weather system barrier in Morocco running east–west and separating theSahara from the Mediterranean and continental zones to the north and west. In the higher elevations of the massif, snow falls regularly, allowingwinter sports. Snow lasts well into late spring in the High Atlas, mostly on the northern faces of the range. On the Western High Atlas, there isOukaïmeden, one of three main ski stations in Morocco.
The High Atlas forms the basins for a multiplicity of river systems. The majority of the year-round rivers flow to the north, providing the basis for the settlements there. A number ofwadis and seasonal rivers terminate in the deserts to the south and plateaux to the east of the mountains.
The High-Atlas Mountains are inhabited by Berbers, who live from agriculture and pastoralism in the valleys. In the steppe zone of the High-Atlas, where precipitations are low, the locals created a smart technique in managing the low precipitations and the weak soil. They turn the rather semi-arid lands into fertile valleys called locally by Agdal (garden in Berber). This technique has intrigued many Western agriculturalists, in which they were impressed by the high efficiency of this agricultural system. Many scientists, particularly French scientists, make yearly expeditions to observe the community and their living system.
There are two types ofAlpine Climates in the High Atlas:
In the west lies the oldest portion of the range. Its high point is the Jbel Toubkal, which is visible from the city ofMarrakech. Jbel Toubkal lies in the Toubkal national park, which was created in 1942. The massif consists ofJurassic andCretaceous formations notched by deep erosion-carved valleys. This part of the range includes theOurika Valley, which is the only location in the High Atlas where theendangeredprimate, theBarbary macaque,Macaca sylvanus, is found; however, this primate is also found in parts of theMiddle Atlas and theRif, as well as parts ofAlgeria.[1] The Ourika Valley is also a location where a diverse flora was recorded as early as the 19th century.[2]
A solid chalk mass morphologically dominated by tabular zones reaching an altitude of 2,500 m (8,200 ft) extends fromAzilal toOuarzazate. Here, the contrasting landscapes are similar toColorado in theUnited States, with high plateaux, gorges and boxcanyons, and peaks sometimes splintered by erosion. Several peaks in this area exceed 4,000 m (13,000 ft), withJbel Mgoun at 4068 m being the highest peak in this part of the High Atlas. The area is populated byBerbers.[citation needed]
The eastern part of the High Atlas forms vast plateaux at high altitude which provide the headwaters for theMoulouya River. It extends from the town ofKhenifra. This portion of the range includes the solid mass of the Tamlelt whose northern edge is occupied by its higher peaks, suchJbel Ayachi at 3,747 m (12,293 ft). The altitude falls towards the east where the mountains join the pre-Saharan zone.
This massif became an internationally famous paleontological site after the discovery of the bones of adinosaur called 'Atlasaurus',[3] which populated Morocco 180 million years ago. This dinosaur is also namedTazoudasaurus, after the name of the village ofTazouda, where it was discovered. The creature, about 15 metres (49 feet) long, is postulated to be an ancestor of theSauropoda found in America. Until 140 million years ago, the African and American continents were connected.[citation needed]
The Atlas Mountains define an ENE-WSW trending intracontinental belt, resulting from thetectonic inversion of theLate Triassic toMiddle Jurassicrift basin during theCenozoicconvergence between theAfrican andEurasian Plates. The Moroccan Atlas is formed by the ENE-WSW-striking High Atlas and the NE-SW-trending Middle Atlas. The former is divided into three segments named western, central, and eastern High Atlas.[4]
The western High Atlas was part of the Atlantic Jurassicpassive margin and is separated from the central and eastern High Atlas by thePaleozoic Massif, an area of pre-Mesozoic basement exposures located south of Marrakesh. The central and eastern High Atlas basin developed as a multiphase rift system opened toward the east by two major rift episodes occurring during Middle-Late Triassic and Early Jurassic (lateSinemurian andPliensbachian. At present, the central High Atlas is characterized by a folded domain that is dominated by NE-SW striking structural highs or ridges separating elongated and widesynclines filled by Early and Middle Jurassic sediments.[4]
Subordinate NW-SE trending structural highs bounding equal-trend synclines are also present. Cretaceous and later syntectonic Tertiary units are also locally present (e.g., Miocene-Pliocene La Cathédrale conglomerates and sandstones).[4]
During theTriassic, the central High Atlas extensional basin was characterized by the synrift deposition of red beds and localizedevaporites capped by extensivebasalticlava flows.[4]
Following the Triassic red bed deposition, marine conditions prevailed during the Early and Middle Jurassic resulting in the development of carbonate and mixed depositional systems. The Jurassic Atlas basin was open to the east (western Tethys realm) with Paleozoic provenance areas located toward the west and south. Liassic sedimentary systems evolved from extensive peritidal shallow water carbonate platforms (Hettangian-lowerSinemurian) that progressively backstepped toward the basin margins, to more localized platform development flanking the depocenters (Sinemurian).[5]
Normal faulting and block tilting increased notably duringPliensbachian times, resulting in north to south compartmentalization of the basin. Pliensbachian carbonate platforms preferentially developed in the margins basin and in synsedimentary structural highs, promoting abrupt transitions in the marine sedimentary record from shallow water to basinal facies.[5]
Global anoxia during the latest Pliensbachian and the earliestToarcian occurred in close association with regional drowning of the lower Liassic platforms and localized deposition of basinal marls. From Toarcian times, carbonate platforms of theAzilal Formation developed in the margins of the central High Atlas basin, whereas the basin axis was occupied by a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platform system prograding eastward to basinal deposits. This mixed system progressively graded to an extensive shallow water carbonate platform of theAnoual Formation,Bajocian to earlyBathonian in age that is recognized throughout the central High Atlas.[5]
Finally, the middleDogger toLower Cretaceous red beds record the sedimentation of continental to shallow marine transitional deposits that characterize the central High Atlas domain. Fully marine environmental conditions and platform carbonate deposits, which locally crop out in the margins of the Atlas System, dominated betweenAptian andCenomanian times.[5]
Fossils ofMesozoic animals are known from High Atlas. Remains ofsauropoddinosaursTazoudasaurus andAtlasaurus were found in theToarcian andBathonian deposits of this range, respectively.[6] In 2023, a fossil of ahybodontiformStrophodus was collected from theBajocian deposits of High Atlas. It's the oldestGondwanan specimen of this genus at the time of discovery.[7] The new species was namedStrophodus atlasensis, after the mountain range where itsholotype was found.[7]
At the foot of the High Atlas one findsAït Benhaddou, aksar (MaghribiArabic:قـصـر,romanized: qṣer, fortified village) still in use. The ksar is widely used in the film industry.[8]
At approximately mid-range, the Amesfrane Rock Wall rises some 1,650 feet (500 m) from a dry riverbedwadi.[9] The formation is composed of rounded columns patterned with horizontal ridges that occurred as a result of erosion, which caused travellers to nickname it "the Cathedral", for its resemblance to agothic cathedral.[10]
Among the summits at a height of 1,600 m (5,200 ft) height lies the Kasbah ofTelouet on the road toMarrakech. The canyons and ravines of theDadès and theTodra are also points of interest.
High Atlas travel guide from Wikivoyage| International | |
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| National | |
