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The Rif (Arabic: الريف, Berber:) is a mainly mountainous region of north Morocco, from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Moulouya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Ouargha in the south. It is part of the Cordillera Bética that also includes the mountains of Southern Spain. The Rif mountains are not part of the Atlas Mountains but belong to the Gibraltar Arc or Alborán Sea geological region. The region’s name comes from the Arabic word rif which means the countryside. This was later adopted to the Berber language as the word arif. Since the region is known to be one of the biggest producers of hashish, the term “reefer” for marijuana was derived from the region’s name.^{[citation needed]}

The people of the Rif are Arabs and Berbers of north Morocco who call themselves Imazighen.

Major Rif cities include Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Ceuta, Melilla, Nador, Al Hoceima (Also called Biya), Azghenghan, Selwan, Ajdir, Tawrirt, Taza, and El Jebha.

For many centuries before Christ, the Berbers inhabited the Rif. The region was later invaded by Phoenicians since the 3rd century BC, founding cities such as Tetouan, Melilla, and later Tangier in the 5th century BC, which later became the capital city of the kingdom of Mauretania. The cities were later invaded by Romans and then Byzantines.

In 710, Salih I ibn Mansur, an Arab, founded the Kingdom of Nekor in the Rif and converted most Berbers to Islam. Arabs then established more cities. By the 15th century, many Spanish Moors were exiled from Spain and most of them lived in the Rif, bringing their culture, Andalusian music, and even establishing Chefchaouen. Since then, the Rif had suffered a lot of battles between Morocco, Spain and Portugal. In 1415, Portugal invaded Ceuta, and in 1490 spain invaded Melilla. There was period of peace after, but war between Spain and Morocco arose again in 1859 in Tetouan were Morocco was defeated. The Spanish-Moroccan conflicts didn’t end. In the 20th century, under the leadership of Abd el-Krim El-Khattabi, the Moroccan guerrilla leader, The Riffian Berbers struggled against Spanish rule and aimed to free Morocco from French and Spanish colonization. Abd el-Krim later established the Republic of the Rif in 1921. The region was returned to Morocco after its independence in 1956.