Anti-Atlas

The Anti-Atlas, Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt, altogether a distance of approximately 500 km. The range borders on the Sahara to the south.The Anti-Atlas is a desolate world of rocky outcrops and lunar landscapes where the contrasts are extreme. Most of the land is dry and barren, but water gathers and runs in some remote places, forming clear basins. Villages in the area are limited to a few small houses surrounded by palm trees.In some contexts, the Anti-Atlas is considered separate from the Atlas mountain System, as the term "anti" implies.GeographyThe summits of the Anti-Atlas reach average heights of 2,500-, with a few peaks reaching higher. To the north lies a plateau at 1700 - 1800 m in height. To the south lie the Sahara highlands at approximately 700 m. On the heights of Ouarzazate, the massif is cut through by the Draa valley, opening towards the south. The range is strongly fissured, particularly in a southerly direction.The Anti-Atlas area is a traditionally Berber region, inhabited by the Chleuh group. It is sparsely inhabited and there are no large cities in the area. The main town is Tafraoute, which has been described as "Morocco's Berber heartland". There are cave paintings in certain areas of the range.