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Aoukar
Aoukar or Erg Aoukar () is a geological depression area of south eastern Mauritania. It is located between Kiffa and Néma, south of the Tagant Plateau. The Aoukar basin is a dry natural region of sand dunes and salt pans fringed by escarpments on its northern and eastern sides. History There was once vast reed-covered endorheic lake in the area, but it no longer exists. The former lake of Aoukar extended towards the area of Tichit, bordering the southern edge of the Tagant Plateau. Below the cliffs ''(dhars)'' facing the extinct lake remains of about 400 villages have been found. From east to west, Dhar Néma, Dhar Walata, Dhar Tichitt, and Dhar Tagant form a semicircular shape around the Hodh/Aoukar Depression, which, prior to 4000 BCE, was an area with lakes of considerable size, and, after 1000 BCE, was an area that had become increasingly dried. During the emergence of the Tichitt Tradition, it was an oasis area. The Tichitt Tradition of eastern Mauritania dates from 2200 BC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayoun El Atrous
Ayoun al Atrous (also known as Aioun el Atrouss) ( ar, عيون العتروس) is a town in southern Mauritania. It is located at around . It is the capital of Hodh El Gharbi region. The city is served by the Aioun el Atrouss Airport, north-west of the city. The town is located in the southern area of the Aoukar, a former lake basin. Ayoun al Atrous was one of the stops in the 2007 Dakar Rally The 2007 Dakar Rally was the 29th running of the event. It started in Lisbon, Portugal on 6 January and ran through Europe and Africa until 21 January 2007. It was the last time the event would take place in Europe and Africa, as the 2008 event wa .... References Hodh El Gharbi Region Regional capitals in Mauritania Populated places in Mauritania {{Mauritania-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Addax
The addax (''Addax nasomaculatus''), also known as the white antelope and the screwhorn antelope, is an antelope native to the Sahara Desert. The only member of the genus ''Addax'', it was first described scientifically by Henri de Blainville in 1816. As suggested by its alternative name, the pale antelope has long, twisted horns – typically in females and in males. Males stand from at the shoulder, with females at . They are sexually dimorphic, as the females are smaller than the males. The colour of the coat depends on the season – in the winter, it is greyish-brown with white hindquarters and legs, and long, brown hair on the head, neck, and shoulders; in the summer, the coat turns almost completely white or sandy blonde. The addax mainly eats grasses and leaves of any available shrubs, leguminous herbs and bushes. They are well-adapted to exist in their desert habitat, as they can live without water for long periods of time. Addax form herds of five to 20 members, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiffa
Kiffa () is a large town in the far south region of Mauritania, and the name of an administrative area within the local Assaba Region. Kiffa is located at , some from the coast and at the western end of the Aoukar sand sea of southern Mauritania. Climate Kiffa has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification ''BWh''). The climate is Sahelian, with April to June as the hottest months and eighty-five percent of the low annual rainfall occurring from July to September. In the 1990s and early 2000s Kiffa benefited from higher rainfall levels than elsewhere in the western Sahel. While Kiffa benefits from the ongoing "greening of the Sahel" the area's rangeland forage ecosystems remain vulnerable and can be subject to damaging overgrazing. Population, infrastructure and agriculture Kiffa was allowed to grow haphazardly and to sprawl during the later 20th century, and it has continued to do so. Near Kiffa is Kiffa Airport which has a tarmac runway of over 1,600 yards in leng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Ergs
In geomorphology, an erg is a large desert region of sand dunes with little or no vegetation,it is divided into 3 parts back erg ,central erg,fore erg, especially in the Sahara. This is a list of ergs around the world. Africa ;Algeria * Grand Erg Oriental (extends into Tunisia) * Grand Erg Occidental * Erg Chech (extends into Mali) * Erg Iguidi (extends into Mauritania) * Erg Issaouane * Erg er-Raoui * Erg Tiferine * Erg Tidohaine * Erg Merhiti * Erg Admer ; Botswana * Kalahari Desert ; Chad * Erg Djourab * Erg Idrisi ; Egypt * Black Desert * Erg Abunugar * Erg Abu Muharrik * Erg Abu Ramada * Gilf Kebir * Ramla el Kebir * Erg Somaya * Negev Desert (extends into Israel) * Great Sand Sea Desert * White Desert ; Libya * Erg Awbari * Erg Ubari * Erg Titersine * Erg Idehan Murzuq * Erg Ouan Kasa * Erg Tannezouft * Erg Takarkouri * Erg Mehedjibat * Erg Tassegefit * Calanshio Sand Sea * Rebiana Sand Sea ; Mali * Erg Achaif * Erg Aoukar (extends into Mauritania) * Erg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Néma
Néma is a town in southeastern Mauritania, close to the border with Mali. It is located at around at the eastern end of the Aoukar. It is the capital of Hodh Ech Chargui Region and of the Néma Department. While the urban population of Nema is approximately 50–60,000, the surrounding rural sites served by the city make it closer to 200,000. Mauritanians value brousse, or country living, as a throwback to their nomadic roots. " The Road of Hope," which stretches from the capital, Nouakchott, ends in Nema near the market quartier. There are ten quartiers, sections, of the city, the oldest being Edelibu Quartier, northeast of the road. Shovia Quartier, dating from the 1950s, is the only section south of the road. Climate Néma has a hot arid climate (Köppen climate classification ''BWh''). Although there is a clearly defined rainy season from July to September during which of the annual rainfall of falls, even in these months evaporation clearly exceeds rainfall. Faci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tagant Plateau
The Tagant Plateau is located in eastern Mauritania, forming a stony part of the Sahara Desert. The Tagant Region, a national administrative division, is named after the plateau. Geography Some towns are located at the foot of the Tagant Plateau's slopes, which form cliffs in some places. Among these areas are Tichit, Moudjéria and Rachid. Tidjikdja lies on the Tagant itself. The Assaba Massif, where Late Ordovician glacial formations have been identified, is a southward prolongation of the Tagant plateau. The Aoukar, the dry basin of a former lake lies beyond of the southern escarpments of the Tagant Plateau. History Beginning in mid-17th century, migrants from the Adrar Plateau region moved in and displaced the native population of the Tagant Plateau. The Tartega Gueltas oasis is one of the few wetlands in the region where there were still desert crocodiles in 1976, but the population seems to have been last seen in 1996. See also *Dhar Tichitt *Geography of Mauritania ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand Dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat regions covered with wind-swept sand or dunes with little or no vegetation are called ''ergs'' or ''sand seas''. Dunes occur in different shapes and sizes, but most kinds of dunes are longer on the stoss (upflow) side, where the sand is pushed up the dune, and have a shorter ''slip face'' in the lee side. The valley or trough between dunes is called a ''dune slack''. Dunes are most common in desert environments, where the lack of moisture hinders the growth of vegetation that would otherwise interfere with the development of dunes. However, sand deposits are not restricted to deserts, and dunes are also found along sea shores, along streams in semiarid climates, in areas of glacial outwash, and in other areas where poorly cemented san ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geography Of Mauritania
Mauritania, a country in the western region of the continent of Africa, is generally flat, its 1,030,700 square kilometres forming vast, arid plains broken by occasional ridges and clifflike outcroppings. Mauritania is the world’s largest country lying entirely below an altitude of . It borders the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara, Mali and Algeria. It is considered part of both the Sahel and the Maghreb. A series of scarps face southwest, longitudinally bisecting these plains in the center of the country. The scarps also separate a series of sandstone plateaus, the highest of which is the Adrar Plateau, reaching an elevation of . Spring-fed oases lie at the foot of some of the scarps. Isolated peaks, often rich in minerals, rise above the plateaus; the smaller peaks are called ''Guelbs'' and the larger ones ''Kedias''. The concentric Guelb er Richat is a prominent feature of the north-central region. Kediet ej Jill, near the city of Zouîrât, has an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tichit
Tichit or Tichitt ( ber, Ticit, ar, تيشيت) is a partly abandoned village at the foot of the Tagant Plateau in central southern Mauritania that is known for its vernacular architecture. The main agriculture in Tichit is date farming, and the village is also home to a small museum. Tichitt Airport has two unpaved runways designated in a barren area southeast of the village. Archaeological significance This region includes a long sandstone cliff formation that defines the northern limit of the Hodh depression, near the former lake of Aoukar. The medieval trading settlement at Tichit is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Neolithic site of Dhar Tichitt in this area was settled by agropastoral communities around 2000 BC. Their settlements were generally situated on the cliffs and included stone building. These are the oldest surviving archaeological settlements in West Africa and the oldest of all stone base settlements south of the Sahara. They are thought to have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tichitt Tradition
The Tichitt Culture, or Tichitt Tradition, was created by Mande peoples. In 4000 BCE, the start of sophisticated social structure (e.g., trade of cattle as valued assets) developed among herders amid the Pastoral Period of the Sahara. Saharan pastoral culture (e.g., fields of tumuli, lustrous stone rings, axes) was intricate. By 1800 BCE, Saharan pastoral culture expanded throughout the Saharan and Sahelian regions. The initial stages of sophisticated social structure among Saharan herders served as the segue for the development of sophisticated hierarchies found in African settlements, such as Dhar Tichitt. After migrating from the Central Sahara, Mande peoples established their civilization in the Tichitt region of the Western Sahara. The Tichitt Tradition of eastern Mauritania dates from 2200 BCE to 200 BCE. Tichitt culture, at Dhar Néma, Dhar Tagant, Dhar Tichitt, and Dhar Walata, included a four-tiered hierarchical social structure, farming of cereals, metallurgy, numerous f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and fauna of the region are likely to be influenced by its geographical and geological factors, such as soil and water resources, water availability, in a significant manner. Thus most natural regions are homogeneous ecosystems. Human impact can be an important factor in the shaping and destiny of a particular natural region. Main terms The concept "natural region" is a large basic geographical unit, like the vast boreal forest region. The term may also be used generically, like in alpine tundra, or specifically to refer to a particular place. The term is particularly useful where there is no corresponding or coterminous official region. The Fens of eastern England, the Thai highlands, and the Pays de Bray in Normandy, are examples o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geology Of Mauritania
The geology of Mauritania is built on more than two billion year old Archean crystalline basement rock in the Reguibat Shield of the West African Craton, a section of ancient and stable continental crust. Mobile belts and the large Taoudeni Basin formed and filled with sediments in the connection with the Pan-African orogeny mountain building event 600 million years ago and a subsequent orogeny created the Mauritanide Belt. In the last 251 million years, Mauritania has accumulated additional sedimentary rocks during periods of marine transgression and sea level retreat. The arid country is 50% covered in sand dunes and has extensive mineral resources, although iron plays the most important role in the economy. Stratigraphy, tectonics and geologic history The oldest rocks in Mauritania date to the Archean, over two billion years old in the Reguibat Shield of the West African Craton. The extremely old crystalline basement rock of the shield is almost entirely Neoarchean age and me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
