In Guezzam (Arabic: عين قزام, ''lit.'' springs of Guezzam; Berber spelling: Gezzam) 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 ...

that is the capital of In Guezzam Province,

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

, on the border with

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTamanrasset Province Tamanrasset or Tamanghasset ( ar, ولاية تمنراست ''Wilāya Tamanrāssat'', Berber languages) is the largest province (''wilaya'') in Algeria. It was named after its province seat, Tamanrasset. The province has two national parks, more ...

. The border town on the Niger side is Assamaka. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 7,045, up from 4,938 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.7%, the second highest in the Tamanrasset province's 2008 boundaries.

History

The commune of In Guezzam was established on 19 December 1984. The district was established in 1986. On 18 December 2019 it became a provincial capital of the new In Guezzam Province. -Population history

Geography

In Guezzam lies in the barren

Tanezrouft The Tanezrouft ( ar, تنزروفت) is a natural region located along the borders of Algeria and Mali, west of the Hoggar Mountains. Along with the Libyan Desert it is one of the most desolate and most arid parts of the Sahara Desert. This area ...

region of far southern Algeria. The landscape is sandy, with frequent

sand dunes 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 ...

interspersed with

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...

Climate

In Guezzam 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, notabl ...

''BWh''), with long, extremely hot summers and short, very warm winters. Despite an extremely dry climate, some occasional rainfall occur during the months of August and September due to the influence of the far northern edge of the

West African Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

, unlike most of the

Algerian Desert The Algerian Desert ( ar, الصحراء الجزائرية) is located in north-central Africa and is part of the Sahara Desert. The desert occupies more than four-fifths of Algerian territory. Its expansion starts from the Saharan Atlas as a ...

. Averages high temperatures soar during the height of the long summer season, with daytime highs always over 40 °C (104 °F) during nearly 4 months and even above 45 °C (113 °F).

Transportation

In Guezzam lies on the

Trans-Sahara Highway The Trans-Sahara Highway or TAH 2 is a proposed transnational highway project to pave, improve and ease border formalities on an existing trade route running north–south across the Sahara Desert. It runs between North Africa bordered by the Medi ...

, at the end of the N1 Algerian national highway, which leads north to

Tamanrasset Tamanrasset (; ar, تامنراست), also known as Tamanghasset or Tamenghest, is an oasis city and capital of Tamanrasset Province in southern Algeria, in the Ahaggar Mountains. It is the chief city of the Algerian Tuareg. It is located an alt ...

and eventually

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 ...

. The road continues southeast to

Arlit Arlit is an industrial town and capital of the Arlit Department of the Agadez Region of northern-central Niger, built between the Sahara Desert and the eastern edge of the Aïr Mountains. It is 200 km south by road from the border with ...

in Niger. In Guezzam is also served by

In Guezzam Airport In Guezzam Airport is an airport near In Guezzam, Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinat ...

, which is, however, closed for public usage.

Education

1.7% of the population has a tertiary education (the equal lowest rate in the province), and another 4.9% has completed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 39.4%, and is 50.7% among males and 29.1% among females; all three rates are the lowest in the province.

Localities

The commune is composed of six localities: *In Guezzam *In Azaoua *Laouni *In Ataye *Garet Nous *Hassi in Tafouk

References

States and territories established in 1984 States and territories established in 1986 Communes of In Guezzam Province Algeria–Niger border crossings