Geography and Ecology
The Middle Atlas provinces cover 23,000 km² in area, and comprise 18% of the total mountainous surface of Morocco. The provinces of Khènifra, Ifrane, Boulmane, Sefrou, Khemisset, El Hajeb as well as parts of the provinces of Taza and of Beni Mellal lie in the Middle Atlas region. Béni Mellal on the Oum Er-Rbia River is designated "the doorway to the Middle Atlas."
The Middle Atlas is a solid mountainous mass of 350 km in length in the North-East of Morocco with a unique charm. Its biodiversity, both in fauna and flora, make Middle Atlas a significant tourist destination. The region is noted for occurrence of the endangered primate, Barbary Macaque, Macaca sylvanus; this monkey prehistorically had a much wider distribution throughout northern Morocco. Wild boar and polecat are also found within the Middle Atlas Range.
Its geo-morphologic structure is:
- Primarily limestone.
- Tabled rock in the west, running to elevations of 800 to 1,000 metres.
- Folded rock toward the northeast and running to elevations exceeding 3000 m, with a highest point, the Jbel Bou Naceur at 3340 m.
- Interspersed with volcanic plateaus.
Over the mountain slopes, extensive forests of cedar spread, intersected by deep valleys. Bordered by the rich Plaine du Saïs and the cities of Fes, Meknes and Beni Mellal, the mountainous reaches of the Middle Atlas are the stronghold of Berber tribes, speaking Tamazight and living at very low population densities.
The Middle Atlas is crossed by one of the principal access roads to the south Marocain, connecting Fes with Tafilalet. Located at the northeast of Atlas. The Middle Atlas ends in the east at Tazekka National Park, with a landscape replete with narrow canyons and caves. In the south of Sefrou, the forests of cedars, of Holm oak and of Cork Oak alternate with plates volcanoic stripped and small full of fish lakes. The jewel of the Middle Atlas is it Ifrane National Park, located in causse atlassic between Khenifra and Ifrane.
The Middle Atlas high points are Jbel Bou Naceur (3340 m), then Jbel Mouâsker (3277 m), in the North, and finally Jbel Bou Iblane (3172 m), which lies close to Immouzer Marmoucha.
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