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The Rif (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterranean to the north, and by the Ouergha River to the south. The Rif mountains are separated into the eastern Rif mountains (Nador, Driouch, Al Hoceima) and western Rif mountains (Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Taounate).
Major cities in the greater Rif region include Nador, Al Hoceima (also called Villa), Imzouren, Driouch, Ben Taieb, Midar and Al Aaroui and a few (small) towns: Segangan, Selouane, Ajdir and Targuist (Targist).
After the Third Punic War, the coast of North Africa came under the control of Roman Empire, and the Rif became part of the Kingdom of Mauretania. When Mauretania was divided during the rule of Emperor Claudius, Tangier became the capital of Mauretania Tingitana. In the 5th century AD, Roman rule came to an end, and the region was later conquered and partly controlled by the Byzantine Empire..
In 710, Salih I ibn Mansur founded the Emirate of Nekor in the Rif, and the Berbers started converting to Islam. By the 15th century, many Muslims who had converted to Christianity were expelled from Spain, and most of them settled in the western Rif and brought their culture with them, such as Andalusian music, and established the city of Chefchaouen. Afterwards the Rif was the site of numerous battles with Spain and Portugal. In 1415, Portugal invaded Ceuta, and in 1490 Spain conquered Melilla.
The Hispano-Moroccan War broke out in 1859 in Tetouan, and Morocco was defeated. The Spanish-Moroccan conflicts continued in the 20th century, under the leadership of Abd el-Krim, the Berber guerrilla leader who proclaimed the Republic of the Rif in 1921.David S. Woolman, Rebels in the Rif: Abd El Krim and the Rif Rebellion (Stanford University Press, 1968), p. 96 The Riffian Berbers won several victories over the Spanish in the Rif War in the 1920s before they were eventually defeated; the war saw extensive use of chemical weapons by Spanish forces. The Spanish region was decolonised and restored to Morocco by Spain in April 1956, a month after the French region gained its independence from France. Shortly afterward, a revolt broke out in the north against the Moroccan king by Riffian insurgents in 1958, but it was easily suppressed.Rémy Leveau (1985). 9782724605099, Presses de la Fondation nationale des sciences politiques. . ISBN 9782724605099
The Rif region receives more rainfall than any other region in Morocco, with some portions receiving upwards of of precipitation a year. The western and central portions are more rainy and are covered in forests of Atlas cedar, cork oak and holm oak, as well as the only remaining forests of Moroccan fir, a subspecies of the Spanish fir. The eastern slopes receive less rainfall, and there forests consist mainly of pines, particularly the Aleppo pine and the maritime pine, as well as tetraclinis.
Massive deforestation due to overgrazing, forest fires, and forest clearing for agriculture, particularly for the creation of cannabis plantations, has taken place since the 1950s. This deforestation has led to soil degradation due to the washing away of topsoil, which has aggravated the process.
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