Boukaïs ( ar, ﻳﺲ ﺑﻮﻗﺎ) is a town and

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 ...

in Lahmar District,

Béchar Province Béchar ( ar, ولاية بشار) is the second least-densely populated province (''wilaya'') in Algeria, named after its capital Béchar. History The greater part of the province is dry plains (hamadas) suitable for grazing but with insuffic ...

, in western

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

. According to the 2008 census its population is 970, up from 890 in 1998, and its annual population growth rate is 0.9%. The commune covers an area of .

Geography

Boukaïs lies at an elevation of on a rocky plain at the edge of a region of higher, darkly colored rocky hills. There is an even higher range of lightly colored hills to the west. The Oued Ihrassa passes by the town to the east; water from this river is used to irrigate the

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

grove found to the southwest of the town.

Climate

Boukaïs 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 deser ...

, with very hot summers and cool winters, and low precipitation throughout the year, especially in summer.

Economy

Agriculture 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 people t ...

is a significant industry in Boukaïs. The commune has a total of of

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

, of which is

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

. There are a total of 19,000

date palms ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Eas ...

planted in the commune. As of 2009 there were 1,613

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

, 1,815

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s, 613 camels, and 8

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

Infrastructure and housing

100% of Boukaïs's population is connected to drinking water, 99% is connected to the sewerage system, and 91% (including 210 buildings) have access to electricity. There is no fuel service stations in the town. Boukaïs has a total of 239 houses, of which 163 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 6.0 inhabitants per occupied building.

Transportation

A local road connects the town to Lahmar, to the east, and then continues south to the provincial capital

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 ...

, from Boukaïs. There is a total length of of roads in the commune.

Education

There is one elementary school, with 8 classrooms including 5 in use. There are a total of 97 elementary and middle school students; secondary school students attend education in Lahmar. 6.0% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 20.6% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 79.7%, and is 86.7% among males and 73.2% among females.

Health

Boukaïs only has one room care facility; for medical treatment residents must travel to a clinic in Lahmar or the hospital in Béchar.

Religion

Boukaïs has one operational

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, with another one under construction.

Localities

The commune is composed of just one locality – the town of Boukaïs itself.

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boukais Communes of Béchar Province