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
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 ...
. The commune is coextensive with El Ouata District, which is named after the town. According to the 2008 census its population is 7,343, up from 7,014 in 1998, with an annual population growth rate of 0.5%. The commune covers an area of .
Geography
El Ouata lies on the left (northeast) bank of the Oued Saoura in the Saoura valley. The Grand Erg Occidental, a large area of continuous sand dunes lies to the east, while the rocky ridges of the Ougarta Range rise to the west, running from northwest to southeast along the opposite side of the river from the town.
Climate
El Ouata 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 ...
, with extremely hot summers and warm winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year.
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 the main industry in El Ouata. 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 136,180
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 1,009
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 ...
, 1,140
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 ...
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 ...
.
Tourism in El Ouata is mainly focused around the sand dunes, palm groves, the old
ksar
Ksar or qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: wiktionary:قصر, قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber language, Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the Nor ...
85% of El Ouata's population are connected to drinking water (the second lowest rate in the province), but 100% are connected to the sewerage system, and 81% (including 2,527 buildings) have access to electricity (the equal lowest in the province). There is one fuel service station in the town.
El Ouata has a total of 1,503 houses, of which 905 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 8.1 inhabitants per occupied building.
Transportation
El Ouata is on the N6 national highway between
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 ...
to the northwest and
Adrar Adrar (in Tifinagh script "ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ"), a Berber word meaning "mountain", is the name of several areas in Northwest Africa:
Algeria
* Adrar, Algeria, a town in Algeria
* Adrar Province, an administrative division of Algeria
* Adrar District, ...
to the southeast. Towns accessible to the north via the N6 include
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.
...
and Igli, while to the south the towns of Béni Ikhlef, Kerzaz, Timoudi and Ouled Khoudir can be accessed.
There is a total length of of roads in the commune.
El Ouata is from 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 ...
.
Education
There are 8 elementary schools, with 57 classrooms including 39 in use. There are a total of 2,243 school students.
5.6% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 15.3% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 74.2%, and is 84.5% among males and 64.5% among females.
Health
El Ouata has 2 polyclinics, 8 room care facilities, and a maternity ward.
Religion
El Ouata has 11 operational mosques, with another 1 under construction.
Localities
The commune is composed of 10 localities:
*El Ouata Centre
*Ksar Bouhadid
*Ksir El Ma
* Ammas
* El Madja
*Annefid
* Aguedal
* El Bayada
*Boukhlouf
*El Ouata Ksar