Aoukar or Erg Aoukar () is a
geological depression
In geology, a depression is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions form by various mechanisms.
Types
Erosion-related:
* Blowout: a depression created by wind erosion typically in either a partially vegetated san ...
area of south eastern
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
. It is located between
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 Mauritani ...
and
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 ...
, south of the
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' ...
.
The Aoukar basin is a dry
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 fl ...
of
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, fl ...
s and
salt pans fringed by
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
s on its northern and eastern sides.
History
There was once vast
reed
Reed or Reeds may refer to:
Science, technology, biology, and medicine
* Reed bird (disambiguation)
* Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times
* Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales
* ...
-covered
endorheic lake
An endorheic lake (also called a sink lake or terminal lake) is a collection of water within an endorheic basin, or sink, with no evident outlet. Endorheic lakes are generally saline as a result of being unable to get rid of solutes left in the l ...
in the area, but it no longer exists. The former lake of Aoukar extended towards the area of
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 ...
, bordering the southern edge of the
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' ...
. 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
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 pa ...
of eastern Mauritania dates from 2200 BCE
to 200 BCE.
Ecology
The Aoukar is one of the few natural refuges for the
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 Blainvil ...
, a
critically endangered kind of antelope which lives in the region.
Richard Trillo, ''The Rough Guide to West Africa''
/ref>
See also
*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 co ...
*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 ...
References
External links
Mauritania - crossing the Aoukar basin
Landforms of Mauritania
Depressions (geology)
Endorheic basins of Africa
Geology of Mauritania
Sedimentary basins of Africa
Natural regions of Africa
{{Mauritania-geo-stub