Kerzaz ( ar, كرزاز) 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 ...

, and capital of

Kerzaz District Kerzaz is a districts of Algeria, district in Béchar Province, Béchar provinces of Algeria, Province, Algeria. It was named after its capital, Kerzaz. According to the 2008 census, the total population of the district was 9,876 inhabitants. Almo ...

, 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 ...

, 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 5,028, up from 4,276 in 1998, and its annual growth rate is 1.7%. The commune covers an area of .

Geography

Kerzaz lies on the left (northeast) bank of the

Oued Saoura Oued Saoura is an intermittent river, or wadi, formed from the confluence of the Oued Guir and Oued Zouzfana at Igli, forming the Saoura valley. While in the past the flow of the river was steady and plentiful, in recent years it has diminished ...

in the

Saoura The Saoura () is a valley in southwestern Algeria. It is formed by the wadi known as Oued Saoura, formed from the confluence of the Oued Guir and Oued Zouzfana at Igli.] From Igli it runs through Béchar Province past the towns of Béni Abbès, T ...

valley. The

Grand Erg Occidental The Grand Erg Occidental ( ar, العرق الغربي الكبير, al-ʿIrq al-Gharbī al-Kabīr), (also known as the Western Sand Sea) is the second largest erg in northern Algeria after the Grand Erg Oriental. It covers an area of approximatel ...

, a large area of continuous

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 ...

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

Kerzaz 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 mild 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 Kerzaz. 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 ...

, 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 63,570

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 1,145

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 ...

, 575

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, 228

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 20

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 ...

Infrastructure and housing

95% of Kerzaz's population is connected to drinking water, 95% is connected to the sewerage system, and 87% (including 1,161 buildings) have access to electricity. There is one fuel service station in the town. Kerzaz has a total of 840 houses, of which 680 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 7.4 inhabitants per occupied building.

Transportation

Kerzaz 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 Ikhlef Béni Ikhlef ( ar, ﺑﻨﻰ ﻳﺨﻠﻒ) is a town and commune in Kerzaz District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. As of the 2008 census, its population was 2,459, up from 2,280 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.8%. The commune co ...

El Ouata El Ouata ( ar, اﻟﻮاتة) is a town and commune in Béchar Province, western Algeria. 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 199 ...

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

Timoudi Timoudi (Arabic: ﺗﻴﻤﻮدى) is a town and commune in Kerzaz District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 2,389, up from 2,116 in 1998, with an annual population growth rate of 1.2%. The area ...

Ouled Khoudir Ouled Khoudir ( ar, أوﻻد ﺧﺪﻳﺮ) is a town and commune in Ouled Khoudir District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 4,251, up from 3,893 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.9%. T ...

and

Ksabi Ksabi ( ar, ﻗﺼﺎﺑﻰ) is a town and commune in Ouled Khodeïr District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 3,187, up from 2,656 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 1.9%. The commune cove ...

can be accessed. There is a total length of of roads in the commune.

Education

There are 4 elementary schools, with 34 classrooms including 20 in use. There are a total of 1,076 school students. 4.9% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 18.7% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 78.5%, and is 90.7% among males and 66.9% among females.

Health

Kerzaz has 2 polyclinics, 2 room care facilities, and a maternity ward.

Religion

Kerzaz 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: *Kerzaz Megsem * Zaouia el Kbira *Kerzaz Ksar Kerzaz Megsem is at the location where the N6 highway departs from the

and enters the Ougarta Range. Kerzaz Ksar is slightly downstream, while Zaouia el Kbira is upstream.

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Béchar Province Communes of Béchar Province