Khenchela Province
Khenchela exhibits altitudinal zonation like mountain transhumance: cedars at 2,328m transition to palms 30 km away in compressed Tell-Sahara contact.
Khenchela Province contains Djebel Chélia, at 2,328 meters the highest peak in northern Algeria, and demonstrates altitudinal zonation in compressed form. Cedar forests clothe the snowcapped upper slopes, giving way to oak and pine, then xerophytic vegetation, and finally palm oases just 30 km away. This represents the meeting point of Tell Atlas and Sahara—Mediterranean climate and desert within a day's walk.
The Aurès Mountains that define this province are the homeland of the Chaoui people, eastern Berbers whose Tachawit language belongs to the Zenati branch. They practice traditional transhumance, farming fixed stone terraces where they grow sorghum and vegetables, moving livestock seasonally between elevations. This vertical economy matches resources to seasons: different altitudes peak at different times, and mobility harvests each zone in turn.
The province was created in 1984 from parts of Oum el Bouaghi and Tébessa, recognizing what geography already defined: a distinct mountain region requiring distinct administration. Belezma National Park hosts 447 flora species (14% of Algeria's total) and 59 protected fauna species including Cuvier's Gazelle and Atlas Barbary Sheep. The Aurès mountains sheltered Berber resistance across millennia—terrain too rugged for easy conquest became a cultural refugium. Khenchela demonstrates how elevation gradients create diversity, and how diversity enables persistence.