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Béni Abbès
Béni Abbès ( ar, بني عباس), also known as the ''Pearl of the Saoura'', and also as the ''White Oasis'', is a town and commune located in western Algeria in Béchar Province, far from the provincial capital Béchar, and from Algiers. It has been the capital of the Béni Abbès District since 1957. The commune's area is approximately , with a population of 10,885 inhabitants as of the 2008 census, up from 8,850 in 1998, and a population growth rate of 2.1%. Béni Abbès lies in the Saoura valley, on the left bank of the intermittent wadi called Oued Saoura. There are seven ksars (castles) in Béni Abbès, including a particularly large one found in a palm grove in the river valley. The people of Béni Abbès are often referred to as ''Abbabsa''. Etymology Béni Abbès is written in Arabic بني عباس, Bani Abbas ("The children of Abbas"). C.Rames explains in his book ''Beni-Abbes (Oran Sahara): Historical, geographical and medical study (1941)'' that the origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communes Of Algeria ...
The municipalities of Algeria (Arabic: بلدية (singular)) form the third level of administrative subdivisions of Algeria. As of 2002, there were 1,541 municipalities in the country. List This list is a copy from the Statoids page named Municipalities of Algeria'. The population data is from June 25, 1998. References See also * List of cities in Algeria * Cities of present-day nations and states {{DEFAULTSORT:Communes Of Algeria Subdivisions of Algeria Algeria 3 Communes, Algeria Communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ksars
Ksar or qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the North African term for "fortified village," from Arabic ''qaṣar'' (), itself possibly loaned from Latin ''castrum''. The term generally refers to a Berber fortified village. Related terms The origin of the Maghrebi Arabic term ''qsar'' is ''qaṣar'' () in Standard Arabic, which means "castle" or "palace"; this term is also found elsewhere in the Muslim world. See, for example, the Iberian ''alcázar''. The Berber (Amazigh) original word for "ksar" used in North Africa by the Berber-speaking populations is ''aghrem'' (singular) or ''igherman'' (plural). In the Maghreb, the term has a more general meaning of "fortified village," or "fort". The Berber word ''igherman'' might be a cognate word, with an identical meaning, with the word ''Garamantes'', which is the name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erg (landform)
An erg (also sand sea or dune sea, or sand sheet if it lacks dunes) is a broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand with little or no vegetative cover. The word is derived from the Arabic word ''ʿarq'' (), meaning "dune field". Strictly speaking, an erg is defined as a desert area that contains more than of aeolian or wind-blown sand and where sand covers more than 20% of the surface. Smaller areas are known as "dune fields". The largest hot desert in the world, the Sahara, covers and contains several ergs, such as the Chech Erg and the Issaouane Erg in Algeria. Approximately 85% of all the Earth's mobile sand is found in ergs that are greater than . Ergs are also found on other celestial bodies, such as Venus, Mars, and Saturn's moon Titan. Description Ergs are concentrated in two broad belts between 20° to 40°N and 20° to 40°S latitudes, which include regions crossed by the dry, subsiding air of the trade winds. Active ergs are limited to regions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamada
A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev desert in Israel and the in Algeria. Formation Hamadas are produced by the wind removing the fine products of weathering: an aeolian process known as deflation. The finer-grained products are taken away in suspension, while the sand is removed through saltation and surface creep, leaving behind a landscape of gravel, boulders and bare rock. Related landforms Hamada is related to desert pavement (known variously as reg, serir, gibber or saï), which occurs as stony plains or depressions covered with gravels or boulders, rather than as highland plateaus. Hamadas exist in contrast to ''ergs'', which are large areas of shifting sand dunes.McKnight, Tom L. and Darrel Hess. ''Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation'', 8th ed., pp. 495-6. U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xeric
Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habitat type vary greatly in the amount of annual rainfall they receive, usually less than annually except in the margins. Generally evaporation exceeds rainfall in these ecoregions. Temperature variability is also diverse in these lands. Many deserts, such as the Sahara, are hot year-round, but others, such as East Asia's Gobi, become quite cold in winter. Temperature extremes are a characteristic of most deserts. High daytime temperatures give way to cold nights because there is no insulation provided by humidity and cloud cover. The diversity of climatic conditions, though quite harsh, supports a rich array of habitats. Many of these habitats are ephemeral in nature, reflecting the paucity and seasonality of available water. Woody-stemm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charts the seas, conducts deep sea exploration, and manages fishing and protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the U.S. exclusive economic zone. Purpose and function NOAA's specific roles include: * ''Supplying Environmental Information Products''. NOAA supplies to its customers and partners information pertaining to the state of the oceans and the atmosphere, such as weather warnings and forecasts via the National Weather Service. NOAA's information services extend as well to climate, ecosystems, and commerce. * ''Providing Environmental Stewardship Services''. NOAA is a steward of U.S. coastal and marine environments. In coordination with federal, state, local, tribal and international authorities, NOAA manages the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, the climatologist Rudolf Geiger (1894–1981) introduced some changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes called the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system. The Köppen climate classification divides climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (temperate), ''D'' (continental), and ''E'' (polar). Each group and subgroup is represented by a letter. All climates are assigned a main group (the first letter). All climates except for those in the ''E'' group are assigned a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). For example, ''Af'' indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arid
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most arid climates straddle the Equator; these regions include parts of Africa, Asia, South America, North America, and Australia. Change over time The distribution of aridity at any time is largely the result of the general circulation of the atmosphere. The latter does change significantly over time through climate change. For example, temperature increase by 1.5–2.1 percent across the Nile Basin over the next 30–40 years could change the region from semi-arid to arid, significantly reducing the land usable for agriculture. In addition, changes in land use can increase demands on soil water and thereby increase aridity. See also * Arid Forest Research Institute * Aridity index * Desert climate * Desiccation tolerance * Drought * Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ougarta
Ougarta is an oasis and a village in the commune of Béni Abbès, in Béchar Province, Algeria. It is southwest of the town of Béni Abbès and about south of Béchar, the capital of the province. Ougarta has a population of about 250 inhabitants. The village has given its name to the Ougarta Range Ougarta Range or Mountains of Ougarta ( ar, سلاسل الوقارتة, french: Chaînes d'Ougarta) are a mountain range in the Saoura area of southwestern Algeria. The range is oriented from northwest to southeast, and extends over a length of ... which surrounds the village. A local road connects the village to the N6 highway near Béni Abbès. Notes and references Neighbouring towns and cities Populated places in Béchar Province {{Béchar-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ougarta Range
Ougarta Range or Mountains of Ougarta ( ar, سلاسل الوقارتة, french: Chaînes d'Ougarta) are a mountain range in the Saoura area of southwestern Algeria. The range is oriented from northwest to southeast, and extends over a length of to a maximum width of . The highest point of the Ougarta Range is ''Djebel Bet Touaris'' (elevation 890 m),Carte IGN, Béchar NH-30, 1/1000000, 1968. located in the extreme northwest of the chain. The other major peaks are ''Djebel Rhennouma'' (867 m) and ''Djebel Berga Saida'' (855 m), both located in the northwest. The remaining peaks have an altitude between 772 m (northwest) and 602 m (southeast). The Ougarta Range is surrounded: * to the northeast by the Grand Erg Occidental (the valley of Oued Saoura is the boundary between the two geographical areas); * to the northwest by the Erg Er Raoui. The Ougarta Range is named after the village and oasis of Ougarta, which lies amongst the mountains. Other towns lying next to the range ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Erg Occidental
The Grand Erg Occidental ( ar, العرق الغربي الكبير, al-ʿIrq al-Gharbī al-Kabīr), (also known as the Western Sand Sea) is the second largest erg in northern Algeria after the Grand Erg Oriental. It covers an area of approximately . The sand dunes in the erg are formed by the wind, and can be up to high. Certain crescent-shaped dunes, known as barchans, are actually mobile; the wind can push these dunes as much as 20 to 30 m (65–100 ft) in one year. Geography It is a desert natural region that receives less than 50 mm (1,96 in) of rainfall per year. The mean elevation of the Grand Erg Occidental is about 500 m, on average higher than the elevation of the Grand Erg Oriental, but not as high as the neighboring Tademaït to the southwest. This desolate region is a practically uninhabited area; there are no permanent villages and there are no roads crossing it. Features Image:GrandErgOccidental STS059-238-88.jpg, Grand Erg Occidental (centre), as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
