page_title: Atlas Mountains
section_title: Middle Atlas
hierarchical_section_title: Atlas Mountains / Subranges / Middle Atlas
caption_attribution_description: English: RGB(SWIR,NIR,red);500m resolution bands) VIIRS instrument (NASA)
context_page_description: The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb. It separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert. It stretches around 2,500 km through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The range's highest peak is Toubkal, which is in southwestern Morocco, with an elevation of 4,167 metres. The Atlas mountains are primarily inhabited by Berber populations. The terms for 'mountain' are adrar and adras in some Berber languages. These terms are believed to be cognates of the toponym Atlas. The mountains are also home to a number of animals and plants which are mostly found within Africa but some of which can be found in Europe. Many of these species are endangered and a few are already extinct.
context_section_description: The Middle Atlas is completely in Morocco and is the northernmost of its main three Atlas ranges. The range lies north of High Atlas, separated by the Moulouya and Oum Er-Rbia rivers, and south of the Rif mountains, separated by the Sebou River. To the west are the main coastal plains of Morocco with many of the major cities and, to the east, the high barren plateau that lies between the Saharan and Tell Atlas. The high point of the range is the jbel Bou Naceur (3340m). The Middle Atlas experiences more rain than the ranges to the south, making it an important water catchment for the coastal plains and important for biodiversity. It is home to the majority of the world's population of Barbary macaque.
caption: Snow on Atlas Mountains in Morocco on 9 January 2018
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