The Rif or Riff ( Tarifit : ⴰⵔⵔⵉⴼ, ⴰⵔⵉⴼ , romanized: Arrif, Arif , Arabic : الريف ), also called Rif Mountains , is a geographic region in northern Morocco . It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people . This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterranean to the north, and by the Ouergha River to the south. The Rif mountains are separated into the eastern Rif mountains ( Nador , Driouch , Al Hoceima ) and western Rif mountains ( Tangier , Tetouan , Chefchaouen , Taounate ).
26-711: Geologically, the Rif Mountains belong to the Gibraltar Arc or Alborán Sea geological region. They are an extension of the Baetic System , which includes the mountains of the southern Iberian Peninsula across the strait. Thus, the Rif Mountains are not part of the Atlas Mountain System . Major cities in the greater Rif region include Nador , Al Hoceima (also called Villa), Imzouren , Driouch , Ben Taieb , Midar and Al Aaroui and
52-685: A subspecies of Lebanon cedar ( C. libani subsp. atlantica ). Fully grown, Atlas cedar is a large coniferous evergreen tree, 30 to 35 m (98 to 115 ft) (rarely 40 m) tall, with a trunk diameter of 1.5 to 2 m (4.9 to 6.6 ft). It is very similar in all characters to the other varieties of Lebanon cedar ; differences are hard to discern. The mean cone size tends to be somewhat smaller (although recorded to 12 cm, only rarely over 9 cm long, compared to up to 10 cm in C. brevifolia , and 12 cm in C. libani ), though with considerable overlap (all can be as short as 6 cm). The Cedrus atlantica leaf length (10–25 mm)
78-647: A few (small) towns: Segangan , Selwan , Ajdir and Targuist (Targist). The Rif has been inhabited by Berbers since prehistoric times. As early as the 11th century BC , the Phoenicians began to establish trading posts with the approval of or partnership with the local Berbers; had started interbreeding and creating a Punic language on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coasts; and had founded cities such as Tetouan , Rusadir (now Melilla ) and (in
104-479: Is around 163,000 hectares, of which around 115,000 hectares (80%) are situated in the Middle-Atlas mountains. The species is in danger from human use, wood harvesting and fires. Data that go back to 1927 show higher number of Atlas cedars (more than 150,000 hectares) in the Middle-Atlas mountains only. The Rif mountains had one of the largest cedar forests in the past, but forests nowadays are much smaller, 15% of
130-526: Is collected mainly by the Guadalquivir (Betics) and Sebou (Rif) rivers, which have delivered most sedimentary infill of the homonym sedimentary foreland basins . . North–south convergence of the Eurasian and African plates occurred during the middle Oligocene to the late Miocene , followed by northwest–southeast convergence from the late Tortonian to present. The Gibraltar Arc was formed during
156-457: Is common in cultivation as an ornamental tree in temperate climates. In garden settings, often the glaucous forms are planted as ornamental trees, distinguished as the Glauca group, a cultivar group . Also, fastigiate, pendulous, and golden-leaf forms are in cultivation. The Atlas cedar is useful in cultivation because it is more tolerant of dry and hot conditions than most conifers. Many of
182-474: Is located on the inner side of the arc, adjacent to the Alboran Sea, mostly consists of high-pressure, low-temperature metamorphic rocks . The External Zone, located on the outer side of the arc, is mostly made of sediments deposited on the passive margins of Africa and Iberia. These rocks became highly deformed during the westward emplacement of the hinterland of the subduction system, with some units in
208-457: Is similar that of C. libani subsp. stenocoma , on average longer than C. brevifolia and shorter than C. libani subsp. libani , but again with considerable overlap. Atlas cedar form forests on mountainsides at 1,170 to 2,200 m (3,840 to 7,220 ft), often in pure forests, or mixed with Algerian fir - Abies numidica , Juniperus oxycedrus , holm oak - Quercus ilex , and Acer opalus . These forests can provide habitat for
234-653: The 5th century BC ) Tingi (now Tangier ). After the Third Punic War , the coast of North Africa came under the control of Rome , and the Rif became part of the Kingdom of Mauretania . When Mauretania was divided during the rule of Emperor Claudius , Tangier became the capital of Mauretania Tingitana . In the 5th century AD , the Roman rule came to an end, and the region was later reconquered and partly controlled by
260-799: The Byzantine Empire . In 710, Salih I ibn Mansur founded the Emirate of Nekor in the Rif, and Berbers started converting to Islam . By the 15th century, many Moors were exiled from Spain , and most of them settled in Western Rif and brought their culture, such as Andalusian music , and even established the city of Chefchaouen . Since then, the Rif has suffered numerous battles with Spain and Portugal. In 1415, Portugal invaded Ceuta , and in 1490 Spain conquered Melilla . The Hispano-Moroccan War broke out in 1859 in Tetouan , and Morocco
286-807: The Iberian Peninsula and Africa . It consists of the Betic Cordillera (south Spain), and the Rif (North Morocco). The Gibraltar Arc is located at the western end of the Mediterranean Alpine belt and formed during the Neogene due to convergence of the Eurasian and African plates. Maximum altitudes of the region are reached at the 3,482 m (11,424 ft) Mulhacén peak at the Cordillera Betica. Precipitation
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#1732765791992312-505: The Neogene due to a combination of western migration of the orogenic mountain front and late orogenic extension. The present convergence rate of the plates is estimated to be approximately 4.5 to 5.0 mm/year with an azimuth of 135–120°. The eastward Gibraltar Arc oceanic subduction system was active during the Early and Middle Miocene and has likely been inactive since. At this time,
338-589: The Trans-Alboran Shear Zone , crosscuts the Gibraltar Arc with a NE trend from the eastern Betics to the western Rif. It was active during the Neogene, contributing to the westward advance of the Gibraltar Arc. Some of the previous fault segments are active, with left-lateral transpressional faulting and moderate to significant clockwise stress rotations. Oblique to this shear zone, there are two major right-lateral strike-slip fault systems,
364-499: The endangered Barbary macaque ( Macaca sylvanus ), a primate that had a prehistorically much wider distribution in northern Morocco and Algeria. Currently, Morocco has the highest total surface of Atlas cedar in the world, and it forms vast forests in the humid zones of the country, around the Middle-Atlas range, the oriental and Northern High-Atlas range, and in the Western and Central Rif mountain range. The current total area
390-505: The endangered primate Barbary macaque , Macaca sylvanus . The Rif mountains are also home to the honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera major . The Rif region receives more rainfall than any other region in Morocco, with some portions receiving upwards of 2,000 mm (78.74 in) of precipitation a year. The western and central portions are more rainy and are covered in forests of Atlas cedar , cork oak and holm oak , as well as
416-484: The 1950s. This deforestation has led to soil degradation due to the washing away of topsoil , which has aggravated the process. The Rif is home to tribal people belonging to different tribes which are usually subdivided in even smaller groups. Following is a list of tribes: Gibraltar Arc The Gibraltar Arc is a geological region corresponding to an arcuate orogen surrounding the Alboran Sea , between
442-518: The Alboran Sea acted as a back-arc basin during the deposition of accretionary units. Since the Late Miocene, north–south to northwest–southeast continental convergence forced the subduction system along the arc that is oriented N20°E to N100°E. There is a lithospheric slab dipping east from the Strait of Gibraltar down to 600 km depth beneath the Alboran Sea. The crustal structure of
468-695: The External Rif having undergone medium-pressure, low-temperature metamorphism during the Oligocene. Flysch units from the Cretaceous to Early Miocene are located between the External and Internal Zones. These were folded and thrust during the westward migration of the Internal Zones and can be interpreted as the palaeo- accretionary wedge of the subduction system that was active during
494-456: The Gibraltar Arc is characterized by an arcuate bulge parallel to the arc, with crustal thinning occurring uniformly from the margins of the mountain ranges towards the Alboran Sea. The lithospheric mantle also has an arcuate bulge below the arc with extreme mantle thinning in the Alboran Sea, which is the typical structure of a back-arc basin located on the concave side of an arcuate mountain belt. A major left-lateral strike-slip fault zone,
520-682: The Lower and Middle Miocene. Atlas cedar C. libani subsp. atlantica (Endl.) Batt. & Trab. Cedrus atlantica , the Atlas cedar , is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae , native to the Rif and Atlas Mountains of Morocco ( Middle Atlas , High Atlas ), and to the Tell Atlas in Algeria . A majority of the modern sources treat it as a distinct species Cedrus atlantica , but some sources consider it
546-570: The Maro-Nerja and Yusuf systems. These trend NW and have transtensional deformation. The present-day stress pattern is probably the consequence of the interference between two stress sources: ongoing continent convergence and secondary stress sources from variations in crustal thickness, sedimentary accumulations causing loading, and the active strike-slip fault. The Arc has two sections: the Internal and External Zones. The Internal Zone, which
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#1732765791992572-718: The cultivated trees have glaucous (bluish) foliage, more downy shoots, and can have more leaves in each whorl; young trees in cultivation often have more ascending branches than many cultivated C. atlantica specimens. In the UK the following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017): An Atlas cedar is planted at the White House South Lawn in Washington, DC. President Carter ordered
598-529: The only remaining forests of Moroccan fir , a subspecies of the Spanish fir . The eastern slopes receive less rainfall, and there forests consist mainly of pines, particularly the Aleppo pine and the maritime pine , as well as tetraclinis . Massive deforestation due to overgrazing , forest fires, and forest clearing for agriculture, particularly for the creation of cannabis plantations, has taken place since
624-655: The total cedar forests in Morocco. Recently massive reforestation campaigns have taken place in the region of Ifrane Province. In Algeria, the Atlas cedar has been in significant decline. According to data from 1966 the species inhabited 23,000 hectares, forming forests around the Djurdjura Mountains in Kabylie and Aures Mountains . However, it is expected that it currently inhabits fewer than 15,000 hectares owing to extensive fires and human use. C. atlantica
650-637: Was decolonised and restored to Morocco by Spain in April 1956, a month after the French region gained its independence from France. Shortly afterward, a revolt broke out in the north against the Moroccan king by Riffian insurgents in 1958, but it was easily suppressed. Farmers in the Rif produce most of Morocco's supply of cannabis . The region is economically underdeveloped. According to C. Michael Hogan, there are between five and eight separate subpopulations of
676-625: Was defeated. The Spanish-Moroccan conflicts continued in the 20th century, under the leadership of Abd el-Krim , the Berber guerrilla leader who proclaimed the Republic of the Rif in 1921. The Riffian Berbers won several victories over the Spanish in the Rif War in the 1920s before they were eventually defeated; the war saw extensive use of chemical weapons by Spanish forces . The Spanish region
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