High Atlas

The eastern High Atlas rises as a chain of high plateaux, broken ridges and deep valleys between the Atlantic-influenced north and the pre-Saharan south. Its mass separates the Mediterranean and continental climatic zones from the Sahara, producing abrupt changes in rainfall over short distances. Snow falls regularly at altitude and persists into late spring on many northern faces. The peaks also collect water that feeds rivers and irrigated basins below.

Most year-round streams flow northward from the range, sustaining settlements along valley floors. Other wadis and seasonal channels carry water toward the deserts and plateaux to the south and east. The eastern section forms broad high surfaces and supplies headwaters for the Moulouya River. Its altitude gradually falls toward the pre-Sahara, while canyons and gorges cut through the uplifted terrain. Travellers face not one simple wall of mountains but a complex landscape of passes and enclosed valleys.

The High Atlas is inhabited by Berber communities who practise agriculture and pastoralism. Where soil is thin and rain uncertain, they use the local agdal system to regulate access to pasture, water and cultivated ground. Such rules protect scarce products from overuse and allow households to combine fields with seasonal herding. Settlement and movement are therefore closely tied to elevation, snowmelt and the narrow strips of fertile land.