Atlas Mountains

The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range across the Maghreb region of northwest Africa, stretching about 2,500 kilometers through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and separating the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean coast and the Atlantic Ocean. The range reaches its highest point at Mount Toubkal in Morocco, at 4,167 meters. Its rock and structure formed in three separate episodes: an early phase in the Paleozoic Era, roughly 300 million years ago, built the older Anti-Atlas core through continental collision; a Mesozoic phase of crustal extension opened sedimentary basins across the region; and a final uplift during the Paleogene and Neogene periods, from about 66 to 1.8 million years ago, raised the modern mountain chains as Africa collided with Europe. The range is home to Berber populations and has a generally cool climate with sunny summers.