Adrar (
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–19 ...
: Adrar, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ; ar, أدرار) is the administrative capital of
Adrar Province, the second largest province in
Algeria
)
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, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...
. The
commune 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 region of the
Sahara Desert
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
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, location =
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. 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 plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
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 acros ...
''.
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 in the south. A vast area of sand dunes, the
Erg Chech, lies to the west, while a large rocky plateau, the
Tademaït, 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 Nuclear weapons testing#Types, underground nuclear test, nuclear tests and five atmospheric nuclear tests by France between November 1961 and February 1966. The bombs were detonated at the Oasis Military Experiments Cen ...
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, nota ...
''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 hottest place on Earth.
Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in Nort ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
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. 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
Touat) 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 (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 d ...
,
Bordj Badji Mokhtar,
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 in addition to
Tassili Airlines flights to
In Aménas.
Adrar is on the N6 national highway, which leads north to
Béchar and south to
Reggane and
Timiaouine
Timiaouine ( ar, ﺗﻴﻤﻴﺎوﻳﻦ) is a town and commune in Bordj Badji Mokhtar District, Bordj Baji Mokhtar Province, in southwest Algeria near the border with Mali. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 4,493, up from 4,206 ...
.
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