Ksabi ( ar, ﻗﺼﺎﺑﻰ) 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 Ouled Khodeïr 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 3,187, up from 2,656 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 1.9%. The commune covers an area of .

Geography

Ksabi lies at an elevation of on the left (eastern) 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 valley; it is the lowest town on this river before it reaches the

endorheic An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

lake

Sebkha el Melah Sebkha el Melah, also known as Sebkhel el Melah or Sebkhet el Melah, is an endorheic salt lake in Béchar Province, southwestern Algeria. The Oued Saoura drains into the lake. The lake is located near Kerzaz, about southeast of Béni Abbès ...

. 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 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

Ksabi 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 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 t ...

is the main industry in Ksabi. 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 95,000

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 2,092

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 ...

and 1,101

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, but no camels or

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

95% of Ksabi's population are connected to drinking water, 95% are connected to the sewerage system, and 97% (including 771 buildings) have access to electricity. There are no fuel service stations in the town; the nearest is in

Kerzaz Kerzaz ( ar, كرزاز) is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune, and capital of Kerzaz District, in Béchar Province, western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 5,028, up from 4,276 in 1998, and its annual growth rate is ...

. Ksabi has a total of 659 houses, of which 429 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 7.4 inhabitants per occupied building.

Transportation

Ksabi is connected by a local road to 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. The nearest towns accessible by the N6 to the north are Ouled Khoudir,

, and Timoudi. Ksabi is from the provincial capital,

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

Education

There are 6 elementary schools, with 32 classrooms including 26 in use. There are a total of 966 school students. 2.5% of the population has a tertiary education (the lowest in the province), and another 9.2% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 62.6%, and is 76.1% among males and 47.8% among females. These are the lowest rates in the province overall and for females, and the second lowest rate for males.

Health

Ksabi has 5 room care facilities and a maternity ward. For more advanced treatment, residents must attend either the

polyclinic A polyclinic (where ''poly'' means "many"; not to be confused with the homonym policlinic, where ''poli'' means "city" and which is sometimes used for a hospital's outpatient department) is a clinic or health care facility that provides both gen ...

in Ouled Khoudir or the hospital in

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. ...

Religion

Ksabi has 6 operational mosques, with another 1 under construction.

Localities

The commune is composed of four localities: *Ksabi * Timgharine * Hassi Abdallah * Bent Cherk

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Béchar Province Communes of Béchar Province