Erg Ferradj ( ar, ﻋﺮق ﻓﺮاج) 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 ...

Abadla District Abadla is a district in Béchar Province, Algeria. It was named after its capital, Abadla. According to the 2008 census, the total population of the district was 21,133 inhabitants. Most of the population of the region is clustered around the Oue ...

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 4,406, down from 4,670 in 1998, and an annual population growth rate of -0.6%, the second lowest in the province. The commune covers an area of .

Geography

Erg Ferradj lies at an elevation of to the west of an extensive palm plantation covering 3000 hectares lying along the western side of the

Oued Guir Oued Guir is an intermittent river or wadi that flows through the Drâa-Tafilalet and Oriental regions in southeastern Morocco and Béchar Province in western Algeria. Course The Oued Guir originates high in the Atlas Mountains northeast of t ...

. The rocky hills of the

hamada A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev dese ...

are found on both sides of the river, but are more dramatic on the eastern side.

Climate

Erg Ferradj 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 cool 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 to ...

is the main industry in Erg Ferradj. 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 the ...

found mainly to the east of the town, 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 116,040

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 9,575

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 s ...

, 6,050

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, 714

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

s, and 23

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 mal ...

. There were also 6,400

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

s in 6 buildings. There is no significant tourist industry in Erg Ferradj.

Infrastructure and housing

Basic services in the town are generally well provided for. 100% of Erg Ferradj's population is connected to drinking water, 99% is connected to the sewerage system, and 99% (including 756 buildings) have access to electricity. There is no fuel service station in the town. Erg Ferradj has a total of 1,300 houses, of which 712 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 6.2 inhabitants per occupied building.

Transportation

Erg Ferradj is reached by a local road from the N6 highway just west of

Abadla Abadla ( ar, العبادلة) is a town and commune in western Algeria, and capital of Abadla District, Béchar Province. It is located on the Oued Guir southwest of Béchar. According to the 2008 census its population is 13,636, up from 10,8 ...

. It is from

and from

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 ...

. There is a total length of of roads in the commune.

Education

There are 3 elementary schools, with 39 classrooms including 27 in use. There are a total of 1,096 school students. 2.8% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 14.9% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 71.3%, and is 77.2% among males and 65.3% among females.

Health

Erg Ferradj has 2 polyclinics and 2 room care facilities; residents must travel to Abadla or

Méchraâ Houari Boumédienne Méchraâ Houari Boumédienne ( ar, مشرع ھوارى بومدين) is a town and commune in Abadla District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 3,091, down from 3,133 in 1998, with an annual gro ...

for further medical treatment.

Religion

Erg Ferradj has 3 operational

mosques 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, i ...

, with another 1 under construction.

Localities

The commune is composed of three localities: *Erg Ferradj *Guir Lotfi *Hassi Menounat

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Béchar Province Communes of Béchar Province Béchar Province