Aurès Mountains

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Map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains across North Africa
Map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains across North Africa

The Aurès is a region in East Algeria as well as an extension of the Atlas mountain range that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in eastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia. 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 highest peak, at 2328 m, is the Djebel Kaltum near the town of Chelia.

Standing alone in eastern Algeria, the Aurès Mountains are one of the less developed areas in the Maghreb. The Shawia (eastern Berber) population practices traditional transhumance, farming fixed stone terraces in the mountains where they grow sorghum and vegetables, but seasonally moving livestock to relatively warm areas in the lowland valleys where they pitch tents or live in other temporary structures and tend their livestock through the winter.

[edit] External links

  • Les Aurès - Algérie [1] (French). Includes many photos of the region.
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