Editing Aurès Mountains

{{short description|Mountain range in Algeria}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name= Aures Mountains<br/>{{lang|ar|جبال الأوراس}}
| other_name=
| photo= Hammam Essalhine Aquae Flaviane Khenchela Mont View 2.jpg
| photo_size= 275
| photo_caption= Mountain landscape at [[Hammam Essalihine]]
| country= [[Algeria]]
| subdivision1_type= Provinces
| subdivision1= {{hlist|[[Batna Province|Batna]]|[[Tebessa Province|Tebessa]]|[[Khenchela Province|Khenchela]]|[[Oum El Bouaghi Province|Oum El Bouaghi]]|[[Souk Ahras Province|Souk Ahras]]|[[Biskra Province|Biskra]]}}
| parent= [[Atlas Mountains]]
| geology= 
| highest= [[Djebel Chélia]]
| elevation_m= 2328
| elevation_ref=<ref name="peaklist">{{cite web|url=http://peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/africa.html|title=Africa Ultra-Prominences|website=peaklist.org|access-date=2024-10-16}}</ref>
| coordinates= {{coord|35|19|05|N|6|38|13|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref=<ref name="peaklist"/>
| range_coordinates =
| range_coordinates_ref=
| map_image= 
| map_size= 280
}}

The '''Aures Mountains''' ({{langx|ar|جبال الأوراس}}, known in antiquity as {{Langx|la|Aurasius Mons}}) are a subrange of the [[Saharan Atlas]] in northeastern [[Algeria]].<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica 1998">{{cite web | title=Aurès - mountains, Algeria | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=20 Jul 1998 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aures | access-date=8 Apr 2023}}</ref> The mountain range gives its name to the mountainous [[natural region|natural]] and [[historical region]] of the [[Aurès]].

==Geography==
The Aures mountains are the eastern continuation of the [[Saharan Atlas]]. The highest peak in the Aurès mountain range is [[Djebel Chélia]] in [[Khenchela Province]], which sits at {{convert|2328|m|ft|0}}.

The [[Belezma Range]] is a northwestern prolongation of the Aures Mountains located where the [[Tell Atlas]] and the Saharan Atlas come together. Its main summits are {{convert|2,178|m|ft|abbr=on}} high Djebel Refaâ and {{convert|2,136|m|ft|abbr=on}} high Djebel Tichaou.<ref>[http://traveltoalgeria.weebly.com/belezma-national-park.html Belezma National Park - Travel to Algeria]</ref> The Atlas chain of mountains extends over 1000 kilometers in total over Northern Africa.

==History==
{{Main|History of the Aurès}}
Historically, the Aures served as a refuge and bulwark for the [[Berber people|Berber]] tribes, forming a base of resistance against the [[Africa (Roman province)|Romans]], [[Vandal Kingdom|Vandals]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], and [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|Arabs]] along the centuries.<ref name=Conant>{{cite book |last=Conant |first=Jonathan |title=Staying Roman : conquest and identity in Africa and the Mediterranean, 439–700 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge New York |year=2012 |isbn=0521196973 |pages=280–281}}</ref>

The mountain area was also a district of [[French Algeria]] that existed during and after the [[Algerian War of Independence]] from 1954 to 1962. It was in this region that the Algerian War of Independence was started by Berber freedom fighters. The rugged terrain of the Aures makes it still one of the least developed areas in the [[Maghreb]].

==Population==
In eastern Algeria, the ''Aures'' is a large [[Berber languages|Berber]]-speaking region, home of the [[Chaoui people]]. The Chaoui eastern [[Berbers|Berber]] population practices traditional [[transhumance]], farming fixed stone terraces in the mountains where they grow [[sorghum]], as well as other grains and vegetables. Seasonally they move their cattle to relatively warm areas in the lowland valleys where they pitch tents or live in other temporary structures and tend livestock through the winter.<ref>[http://alger-roi.fr/Alger/documents_algeriens/monographies/pages/3_vie_economique_chaouia.htm La vie économique du Chaouia de l'Aures]</ref>

==Features==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Localisation aures.svg|Location of the [[Aurès]] region in Algeria
File:Belezma 1.JPG|View of one of the mountains of the [[Belezma Range]], a western subrange of the Aures
File:Entrée des aouras par le sud.jpg|Landscape of southern area of the range
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Aurès|Aurès region]]
* [[Geography of Algeria]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Aurès Mountains}}
* [http://algerieaures.afrikblog.com/ Les Aurès - Algérie] (French). Includes many photos of the region.
{{Mountains of Algeria |state=collapsed}}
{{Major African geological formations}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aures Mountains}}
[[Category:Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Algeria]]