Where is atlas mountains

Traversing the Atlas most often required going through one of two passes: the southern pass through the High Atlas between Marrakesh and Ouarzazate, or the northern pass over the Middle Atlas between Sijilmasa and Fez.

Controlling either of these routes, or ideally both of them, secured access to the lucrative trade of gold and salt between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa. Photograph courtesy Artstor. At the end of the humid season, which occurred sometime between late April and early May, the tribal leader would signal the move from the lower elevations to higher climes. Territories were divided between clan or familial groups that left their more permanent settlements on the plains for an itinerant season of herding and grazing.

Since these seasonal movements often traversed other tribal territories, they became a major driver in forming political alliances. During the more humid season, which extended from early October to late March, the highland plains were used for herding, following a practice developed among the Berber communities centered around the agdal. Though as a garden type the agdal would be monumentalized on an imperial scale under the Almohads in twelfth-century Marrakesh see Agdal Garden , on the rural scale, these walled agropastoral enclosures were popular throughout the Atlas both before and after their heyday in the medieval era.

Our specialists always aim to suggest properties that match your preferences. Our specialists seek out authentic ways to get to know the places that could feature in your trip. These activities reflect some of the experiences they've most enjoyed while visiting the Atlas Mountains, and which use the best local guides.

Arrive in the village of Tassa Ouirgane, situated near the Toubkal National Park at an altitude of 1, m. From here starts the hiking through forests of oaks and juniper trees to Azadden valley. Morocco menu. Hiking in the Atlas Mountains A minute drive from Marrakesh , the range is easy to visit and you can opt to explore on foot or in a 4x4.

Visit traditional Berber villages The Berbers are the original inhabitants of these vast mountains and their civilisation reaches back more than eight millennia.

Speak to someone who's been there Start planning your tailor-made trip to the Atlas Mountains by contacting one of our Morocco specialists. Suggested itineraries featuring the Atlas Mountains Our itineraries will give you suggestions for what is possible when you travel in the Atlas Mountains, and they showcase routes we know work particularly well. Trekking in the High Atlas Mountains Morocco. View this tour. Grand tour of Morocco Morocco. Map view Places in and around the Atlas Mountains.

Map of the Atlas Mountains. Places in and around the Atlas Mountains. Photos of the Atlas Mountains. The High Atlas mountains, Morocco. As the three plates separated, the crust thinned so much that a tear opened up and formed a rift valley that eventually filled with ocean water. Grabens have elevated blocks at their edges called horsts that became fault-block mountains. These mountains were pushed up even higher during a later phase of intense mountain building in the Cenozoic 66 million years to present , spurred by the collision of African and Eurasian tectonic plates.

The second image is centered near the small village of Taribante and shows a closer view of several streams running between a colorful series of ridges. The ridges are made up of purple, green, white, and black layers of sedimentary rock that formed at the bottom of a shallow ocean. Caption by Adam Voiland. Image of the Day Land Remote Sensing. Image of the Day Land. Acquired November 13, , this false-color image shows part of the Ouachita Mountains in southeastern Oklahoma.

The Anti-Atlas Mountains of northern Africa and the nearby Atlas mountains were created by the prolonged collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, beginning about 80 million years ago.