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The Atlas Mountains (Kabyle Idurar n le?les, Arabic ???? ?????? ?) is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about 2,400 km (1,500 miles) through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Jbel Toubkal, with an elevation of 4,167&_160;metres (13,671&_160;ft) in southwestern Morocco. The second highest mountain is the M'Goun of 4,071&_160;metres (13,356&_160;ft). The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert. The population of the Atlas Mountains are mainly Berber tribes in Morocco and kabyles in Algeria. The terms for 'mountain' in some Berber languages are adrar and adras, believed to be cognate with the toponym. The mountains are divided into additional and separate ranges, including the Middle Atlas, High Atlas, and Anti-Atlas. The lower Tell Atlas running near the coast and the larger Saharan Atlas running further south terminate in the Aurès Mountains located in Algeria and Tunisia. The Atlas Mountains constitute one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger African Alpine System division. The basement rock of most of Africa was formed in the Precambrian (approximately 4.5 billion to 550 million years ago) and is much older than the Atlas mountains lying in Africa. The Atlas formed during three subsequent phases of Earth's history. The first tectonic deformation phase involves only the Anti-Atlas, which was formed in the Paleozoic Era (~300 million years ago) as the result of continental collisions. North America, Europe and Africa were connected millions of years ago.
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