Adrar ( Berber: Adrar, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ; ar, أدرار) is the administrative capital of

Adrar Province Adrar ( ar, ولاية أدرار, ber, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ) is a province (''wilaya'') in southwestern Algeria, named after its capital Adrar. It is the second-largest province, with an area of 424,948 km2, roughly the size of the US state ...

, the second largest province in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. The

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

is sited around an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

in the

Touat Tuat, or Touat, is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara. Geography Tuat lies to the south of the Grand Erg Occidental, to th ...

region of the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. According to a 2008 census it has a population of 64,781, up from 43,903 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 4.0%. Adrar is mainly an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

town, characterized by its traditional irrigation system, the ''

Foggara A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...

''.

Geography

Adrar lies at an elevation of above sea level. A large oasis lies to the southwest of the town; this oasis lies in the Tuat region, a string of oases running from Bouda in the north to

Reggane Reggane (from Berber "Argan"; ar, رقان) is a town and commune, and the capital of Reggane District, in Adrar Province, central Algeria. Reggane lies in the Sahara Desert near an oasis. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 20,4 ...

in the south. A vast area of sand dunes, the

Erg Chech The Erg Chech ( ar, عرق شاش), is a large erg in southwestern Algeria and northern Mali. Geography It is an almost uninhabited part of the greater Sahara Desert, an inhospitable desert region with long, extremely hot summers and short, very w ...

, lies to the west, while a large rocky plateau, the

Tademaït Tademaït is a natural region in the Sahara Desert right in the centre of Algeria. It is located north of In Salah and south of the Grand Erg Occidental in the Adrar District of Adrar Province, El Ménia District of Ghardaïa Province and the nor ...

, lies to the east.

Nuclear testing

Adrar was the site of one of the

In Ekker series, French nuclear tests In Ekker was a series of 13 underground nuclear tests and five atmospheric nuclear tests by France between November 1961 and February 1966. The bombs were detonated at the Oasis Military Experiments Centre near In Ekker, French Algeria at the Tan ...

during the 1960s.

Climate

Adrar has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

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, notabl ...

''BWh''), with long, hot summers and short, warm winters, and averages just of rainfall per year. Summer temperatures are consistently high as they commonly approach 40 °C (106 °F). temperatures at night are still hot at around 27 °C (81 °F). Even in early May or in late September, daytime temperatures can rise to 45 °C (113 °F). Adrar experiences the same kind of desert heat as

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

during summertime. Winter nights can be chilly and frost is by no means unknown but the days are pleasantly warm, sunny and dry. During the summer, the Sahara region of Algeria is the source of a scorching, sometimes dusty and southerly wind called the

Sirocco Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from ...

. These winds parch the plateaus of northern Algeria up to 40 days and reach the Tell coastal region for as many as 20 days.

Culture

The settlement in the region (also known as

) is quite ancient and the area provides for several different cultures and includes several historic monuments. This intermingling gave birth to a body of traditions and of cultural and hand-crafted practices that are still present today in the life of its inhabitants, translating into a wealth of the folklore and cultural heritage.

Transportation

Touat Cheikh Sidi Mohamed Belkebir Airport Touat-Cheikh Sidi Mohamed Belkebir Airport is a public airport located 6 nm (11 km) southeast of Adrar, the capital of the Adrar province (''wilaya'') in Algeria. Facilities The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. ...

(or simply ''Adrar Airport'') is located 10 kilometers away from center of the city. Airlines include

Air Algérie Air Algérie SpA ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الجزائرية, ; ber, Aeriverdan idzayriyen) is the flag carrier of Algeria, with its head office in the Immeuble El-Djazair in Algiers. With flights operating from Houari Boumedienne Airpor ...

flight to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

Bordj Badji Mokhtar Bordj Badji Mokhtar ( ar, برج باجي مختار) is a town and commune in Bordj Badji Mokhtar District, Bordj Badji Mokhtar Province, in south-western Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 16,437, up from 9,323 in 1998, ...

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

and

Ouargla Ouargla ( Berber: Wargrən, ar, ورقلة) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune ...

in addition to

Tassili Airlines Tassili Airlines ( ar, طيران الطاسيلي) is an Algerian passenger airline, based in Algiers, owned by Sonatrach, the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1998, Tassili now provides scheduled services out of Houari B ...

flights to In Aménas. Adrar is on the N6 national highway, which leads north to

Béchar Béchar ( ar, بشار) is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth ...

and south to

and Timiaouine.

Demographics

Education

9.2% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 19.8% has completed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 84.1%, and is 89.9% among males and 78.1% among females (the second highest among all the communes in the province).

Localities

As of 1984, the commune was composed of the following eight localities: *Adrar *Adgha *Ouguedim *Barbaa *Ouled Oungal *Ouled Ouchen *Ouled Ali * Tililane * Meraguen

References

External links

Adrar Province
{{Authority control Communes of Adrar Province Oases of Algeria Province seats of Algeria Populated places with year of establishment missing