[4] The Atlas Mountains have earned a reputation as a trekkers’ den, attracting adventurers year-round.

[5] The basement rock of most of Africa was formed during the Precambrian supereon and is much older than the Atlas Mountains lying on the continent.

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.

These mountains were formed when Africa and America collided and were once a chain rivaling today's Himalayas.

This extension was responsible for the formation of many thick intracontinental sedimentary basins including the present Atlas.

[6][7] However, there is a lack of evidence for the nature of the subduction in the Atlas region, or for the thickening of the Earth's crust generally associated with continental collisions.

One of the most striking features of the Atlas to geologists is the relatively small amount of crustal thickening and tectonic shortening despite the important altitude of the mountain range.

Recent studies suggest that deep processes rooted in the Earth's mantle may have contributed to the uplift of the High and Middle Atlas.

[citation needed] The range can be divided into four general regions: The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest of Morocco toward the northeast to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt (altogether a distance of approximately 500 kilometres or 300 miles).

[8] The High Atlas in central Morocco rises in the west at the Atlantic coast and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border.

It is mainly inhabited by Berber people, who live in small villages and cultivate the high plains of the Ourika Valley.

The largest villages and towns of the area are Ouarzazate, Tahannaout, Amizmiz, Imlil, Tin Mal and Ijoukak.

To the west are the main coastal plains of Morocco with many of the major cities and, to the east, the high barren plateau that lies between the Saharan and Tell Atlas.

The area immediately to the south of the Tell Atlas is the high plateau of the Hautes Plaines, with lakes in the wet season and salt flats in the dry.