What is special about the Atlas Mountains?

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Known among the locals as ‘Idraren Draren’ (Mountains of Mountains), the High Atlas Mountains are North Africa’s highest mountain range. They run across Morocco for about 1000 km and separate the mild Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines from the harsh Sahara desert in the south.

What are the Atlas Mountains made of?

The ridges are made up of purple, green, white, and black layers of sedimentary rock that formed at the bottom of a shallow ocean.

What type of mountain is Atlas mountain?

Overall, however, the Atlas can be categorized as a semi-arid mountain range between the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean/Mediterranean and the massive Sahara Desert. The highest mountain in the Atlas is Mount Toubkal. Mount Toubkal measures nearly 14,000 feet, and is located in southwestern Morocco.

What physical process caused the formation of the Atlas Mountains?

The Atlas Mountains formed because of tectonic plate collisions. Nearly 80 million years ago, the African continental and Eurasian continental plates collided. This collision shifted the bedrock beneath the surface of the Earth to uplift in a process known as outcropping.

What is an interesting fact about the Atlas?

The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in northwest Africa. They run 2,410km (1,500 miles) from the Atlantic coast of Morocco to northeast Tunisia. The Atlas Mountains are not a continuous chain of mountains but a series of ranges separated by wide areas of land, which are called plateaus.

Do the Atlas Mountains have snow?

Although some peaks of the Atlas Mountains had caps of snow in January, much snowier conditions prevail a month later. Snow in Morocco is not unusual. Two ski resorts in the Atlas Mountains—one near Marrakech and the other near Ifrane—experience fairly regular snowfall each January and February.

Are the Atlas Mountains volcanic?

The High Atlas culminates in Mount Toubkal at 13,665 feet (4,165 metres), the highest point in the Atlas Mountains, which is surrounded by high snowcapped peaks; the Aurès Mountains are formed of long parallel folds, which reach a height of 7,638 feet at Mount Chelia.

Where is Atlas mountain found?

It includes the Djebel Siroua, a massif of volcanic origin with the highest summit of the range at 3,304 m. The Jebel Bani is a much lower range running along the southern side of the Anti Atlas.

Can you climb the Atlas Mountains?

The three mountain ranges that cross much of contemporary Morocco—the Middle in the north, the High Atlas in central Morocco, and the Anti-Atlas in the south along the Atlantic coast—form both a natural boundary and a rich natural environment.

Where is Atlas located at?

A full day of hiking for this Atlas Mountain trek involves around 10 to 12 hours walking. It’s not for first-time hikers. You don’t need to be super-fit for this trip. The climbs, however, are demanding with some long days of sustained walking with a backpack.

What is the climate of the Atlas Mountains?

The atlas is the topmost vertebra and, with the axis (the vertebra below it), forms the joint connecting the skull and spine. The atlas and axis are specialized to allow a greater range of motion than normal vertebrae. They are responsible for the nodding and rotation movements of the head.

Is Atlas mountain a fold mountain?

Climate of the Atlas Mountains. The Atlas Mountains are the meeting place of two different kinds of air masses—the humid and cold polar air masses that come from the north and the hot and dry tropical air masses that move up from the south.

How were mountains formed?

The Atlas Mountains are known as fold mountains, which is one of the many different types of mountains. A fold mountain is formed through continental pressure where uplifts are formed to relieve the pressure.

What was Atlas the God of?

Mountains form where two continental plates collide. Since both plates have a similar thickness and weight, neither one will sink under the other. Instead, they crumple and fold until the rocks are forced up to form a mountain range. As the plates continue to collide, mountains will get taller and taller.

Do the Atlas Mountains have glaciers?

ATLAS was the Titan god who bore the sky aloft. He personified the quality of endurance (atlaô). Atlas was a leader of the Titanes (Titans) in their war against Zeus and after their defeat he was condemned to carry the heavens upon his shoulders.

What is the Atlas Mountains for kids?

There are no glaciers today in the High Atlas, Morocco. However, there is evidence that niche glaciers and late-lying snowpatches in the High Atlas were present as recently as the last century and there are at least four sites where snowpatches appear to survive some summer seasons today.

Does it snow in Africa?

The Atlas Mountains are not one mountain range but a series of ranges stretching some 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. To the north the mountains face the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south they overlook the vast Sahara.

Is it really snowing in Africa?

Snow is an almost annual occurrence on some of the mountains of South Africa, including those of the Cedarberg and around Ceres in the South-Western Cape, and on the Drakensberg in Natal and Lesotho.

Does it freeze in Morocco?

The tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho, an enclave within South Africa, is the only country on earth where nowhere is less than a thousand metres above sea level; and that means there is snow.

Why are the Atlas Mountains so named?

January is the coldest month in Morocco; Rabat experiences average temperatures of 51.3 degrees Fahrenheit (10.7 degrees Celsius) while it gets colder in the mountains, with Ifrane recording subzero lows of 31 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 degrees Celsius). Snow starts to appear at the peak of the Atlas Mountains.

What are mountains in the desert called?

Most of the people living in the Atlas Mountains are part of Berber tribes in Morocco and in Algeria. The mountains are named after the ancient Greek Titan, Atlas.

Is the highest peak of Africa?

A mesa is a steep-sided, flat-topped mountain or hill. Mesas are sometimes called table hills or table mountains. A small mesa is also known as a butte.

Where in Africa is Morocco?

Mount Kilimanjaro. Located in Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro is the African continent’s highest peak at 5,895 meters (19,340 feet). The majestic mountain is a snow-capped volcano. Located in Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s tallest mountain at about 5,895 meters (19,340 feet).

What 2 mountains are found in Morocco?

Morocco is located in the northwest corner of Africa and is bordered by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Algeria and Western Sahara are the land borders to the south and east. Morocco is about the same size as California.

How many peaks are in the Atlas Mountains?

Forming a barrier between the Mediterranean Sea and the vast Sahara Desert, the rugged Atlas Mountains are a major chain of peaks that runs through Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. The range contains 32,505 named peaks, the highest and most prominent of which is Toubkal (4,167m/13,671ft) in Morocco.

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