The Saharan Atlas of Algeria is the eastern portion of the Atlas Mountains. Not as tall as the Grand Atlas of Morocco they are far more imposing than the Tell Atlas range that runs closer to the coast. The tallest peak in the range is the 2,236 m (7,336 ft) high Djebel Aissa.
The Saharan Atlas includes a series of shorter ranges: the Amour, Ksour and Ouled-Naïl Mountains. The Tell Atlas and the Saharan Atlas merge in the east to join together into the Tébessa and Medjerda mountains.
The Saharan Atlas is one of the vast plateaus of Africa, formed of ancient base rock covered by the sediment of shallow seas and alluvial deposits.
Among the rivers of the Atlas, the Saharan Atlas feeds wadis. Among these are the Chelif and Touil wadis, riverbeds that contains water only during wet periods, respectively draining the Amour and Ouled-Naïl ranges of the Saharan Atlas.
The Saharan Atlas Mountains mark the northern edge of the Sahara Desert. The mountains see some rainfall and are better suited to agriculture than the plateau region to the north. Today most of the population of the region are Chaoui Berbers. The mountains have also long been home to exiles expelled from the fertile coastal regions. The Sahara desert is one of the largest in the world.
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