TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

228 IMPROVEMENT OF TROPIOAL AND SUBTROPIOAL RANGELANDS
various altitudinal zones at different seasons of the year that gives
the Beni Mguild Arabs their highly involved migratory pattern.
This is not to deny the importance of agriculture, but the
herds are the primary source of wealth, and as such, claim priority
in the system of movement. This fact is amply demonstrated
by the marked decline in the size of all herds after the French
penetrated the Moulouya Valley and restricted the Beni Mguild's
seasonal movements. 8 Precisely because agriculture is a prominent
part of their system and because they make so many movee in order
to exploit as fully as possible their rugged upland environment, the
Beni Mguild offer great insight into the adaptive nature of pastoral
nomadism.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
The tribal areas of the Beni Mguild are located in the central
portion of the Middle Atlas and can be divided into three zones: 7 the
Azaghar Plateau region, the ridges of the Middle Atlas proper, and
the steppes of the Upper Moulouya Valley. The Middle Atlas range
dominates the region. Aligned in a southwesterly to northeasterly
direction, the Middle Atlas is a broken, mountainous area running
from the High Atlas to an abrupt termination near Taza. At ita
southern end, the range drops rapidly to the Plain of Tacila on ita
western side, while it runs parallel to the High Atlas on its eastern
side. It is separated from the High Atlas by the deep gorge of the
Wadi al-Abid. This dividing line is more than simply a physical
separation, for in the more arid areas south of the High Atlas, the
Alt Atta practice a form of nomadism that differs notably from that
of the Beni Mguild. 1 North of the Wadi al-Abid, the Middle Atlas
trends in a more westerly direction, and the wedge-shaped upper and
middle Moulouya plains intrude between the two ridges. Here, the
eastern boundary ofthe Middle Atlas is marked by an abrupt descent
into the Moulouya Valley. Boundaries for the Middle Atlas peaks,
some of which exceed 2,500 m and many of which are important
summer grazing areas for the herds of the Beni Mguild, are much
less clear on all other sides, particularly to the northwest, where
the ground gradually drops off through plateau country as it slopes
gently toward the ocean.
This gently sloping upland is called the Azaghar Plateau.o
Bounded by an abrupt drop to the 5as Plain near Meknes on the
north, the Plain of Tadla and the fields along the Wadi Qum ar-Rbia