Coordinates: 35°54′N 05°25′W

Jebel Musa (Morocco)

Jebel Musa (Arabic: ‫ﺟﺒﻞ ﻣﻮﺳﻰ‬, Jabal Mūsā, in Berber
languages: Adrar n Moussa; meaning Mount Moses) is a
Jebel Musa
mountain in the northernmost part of Morocco, on the African Adrar n Moussa / ‫ﺟﺒﻞ ﻣﻮﺳﻰ‬
side of the Strait of Gibraltar. It is part of the Rif mountain Jbel Musa, Djebel Musa
chain. The mountain is generally identified as the southern Pillar
of Hercules, Abila Mons.

Contents
Description
Ecology
References
View of Jebel Musa from Benzú, in the
External links Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Highest point
Elevation 842 m (2,762 ft)
Description Listing List of mountain ranges in
the world named The
Jebel Musa, named, according to the 14th-century Berber Sleeping Lady
Muslim geographer Ibn Battuta, in honour of Musa bin Nusayr, Coordinates 35°54′N 05°25′W
to whom the conqueror of Andalusia Tariq ibn Ziyad owed Geography
fealty,[2] was known to the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians as
Mount Abyla and to the Romans as Columna.[3] Together with Jebel Musa
the Rock of Gibraltar to the north, it is generally identified as
one of the Pillars of Hercules (this title is also claimed for Monte
Hacho in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, to the east of Jebel
Musa).[4]

Morocco
Parent range Rif Mountains
Climbing
First ascent Unknown

View of Jebel Musa as seen from Ramsar Wetland

Gibraltar
Official name Littoral de Jbel Moussa
Designated 16 April 2019
The name 'pillars of Hercules' derives from one of the twelve Reference no. 2381[1]
labours assigned the Greek hero Heracles. Perseus had defeated
the Titan Atlas by showing him the head of the Gorgon. Atlas was petrified; his hair became a forest and his
shoulders became cliffs. Heracles was then directed to get the Cattle of Geryon and deliver them to
 Eurystheus. Heracles' way was blocked by the mountain that Perseus
had created; to clear a way, he used his mace to split the mountain in
half, one part becoming the Rock of Gibraltar and the other becoming
a mountain in Morocco. According to the myth, this split in the
mountain created a sea link between the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean Sea. This link was the Strait of Gibraltar.[5]

Jebel Musa is 842 metres (2,762 ft) high. To the north, across the
Jebel Musa, viewed in telephoto lens Strait of Gibraltar, lie Spain and the British Overseas Territory of
from the shore of Cadiz Province, Gibraltar. To the east is Ceuta, a Spanish exclave, and to the west and
Spain. south is Morocco.[6] By road, the mountain is about 22 kilometres
(14 mi) west of Ceuta and about 72 kilometres (45 mi) east of
Tangier.[7]

Jebel Musa is opposite the Rock of Gibraltar at the entrance to the

Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. It is an important
landmark in the region of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima on the north
coast of Morocco.[8] The coastlines around the mountain show
evidence of having had varying sea levels through the ages. These
highstands are at 120–130 metres; 80 to 90 metres; 40 to 60 metres
An aerial view of the mountain. and from 0 to 25 metres above the present sea level.[9]

In Ceuta, around the town of Benzú, the mountain is known as The

Dead Woman (Spanish: la Mujer Muerta), because from that direction it resembles a woman on her back.[10]

Ecology
The mountain is a site for birdwatching. Migratory birds use the updraughts and thermals from Jebel Musa to
gain height before attempting to cross the Strait of Gibraltar.[11] The Strait of Gibraltar is "one of the world's
most prominent" migration bottlenecks and raptor watching is popular in the fall, though the best observation
points may be north of the Strait.[12] The shoreline at the foot of the mountain has been designated as a
protected Ramsar site since 2019.[1]

The area around the mountain has over 200 caves that attract visiting cavers. The area around the mountain is
mainly forest and is identified in the Plan for Protected Areas in Morocco as a Site of Biological and
Ecological Interest (SIBE).[13][14]

References
1. "Littoral de Jbel Moussa" (https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2381). Ramsar Sites Information Service.
Retrieved 29 July 2019.
2. H.T. Norris, Ibn Battutah's Andalusian Journey", The Geographical Journal, 1959.
3. Bulfinch, Thomas (reprint 2005). Bulfinch's Mythology (See Glossary - A) (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20160126022914/http://www.classicreader.com/book/2823/111/). classicreader.com.
Archived from the original (http://www.classicreader.com/book/2823/111/) on 26 January 2016.
Retrieved 6 August 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. "Pillars of Hercules" (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/262813/Pillars-of-Heracles),
Encyclopædia Britannica Online
5. "Pillars of Hercules" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120703182506/http://www.mlahanas.de/Gr
eeks/Mythology/PillarsOfHercules.html). mlahanas.de. Archived from the original (http://www.ml
ahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/PillarsOfHercules.html) on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
 6. Clammer, Paul (2009). Morocco p. 168 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Kkl5d8NRCOEC&
q=Jebel+Musa+morocco). Lonely Planet. p. 536. ISBN 9781741049718.
7. Google maps (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Jebel+Musa,+Tetouan+Province,+Tanger-T%
C3%A9touan,+Morocco&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sll=35.796915,-5.59202&sspn=0.429955,0.933151
&oq=Jebel+Musa&hnear=Jebel+Musa&t=m&z=14)
8. "Jebel Musa: Morocco" (http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-64940
&fid=3936&c=morocco). National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Retrieved 19 July 2012.
9. Rodríguez Vidal, J.; L.M. Cáceres Puro (2005). Rodríguez Vidal, J. (ed.). "EVIDENCIAS
MORFOLÓGICAS EROSIVAS DE NIVELES MARINOS PLEISTOCENOS EN LA COSTA DEL
JBEL MUSA (N. DE MARRUECOS)". Libro de Actas. Gibraltar Museum.
10. Clammer, Paul (2009). Morocco p.192 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Kkl5d8NRCOEC&
q=Jebel+Musa+morocco). Lonely Planet. p. 536. ISBN 9781741049718.
11. Ham, Anthony (2007). Morocco p.176 (https://books.google.com/books?id=V_IMx-YYvJYC&q=
Jebel+Musa+morocco). Lonely Planet. p. 528. ISBN 9781740599740.
12. Bildstein, Keith L. (2006). Migrating Raptors of the World: Their Ecology & Conservation (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=uHe6JPHFMZ8C&pg=PA227). Cornell University Press.
p. 320. ISBN 9780801441790. See especially, pp. 227-232
13. "Agence de Voyage" (http://www.rifplanete.com/?cat=140&lang=en). rif planete. Retrieved
19 July 2012.
14. Identification of important ecosystem properties and assessment of ecological status and
pressures to Mediterranean marine and coastal biodiversity, Preliminary Report (http://195.97.3
6.231/acrobatfiles/10WG347_Inf5_Eng.pdf) (PDF), United Nations Environment Programme,
March 2010, p. 8

External links

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