Moghrar ( ar, مغرار) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Naâma Province Naâma Province ( ar, ولاية النعامة) is a province (''wilaya'') of Algeria named after its provincial seat, the town of Naâma. The region is dominated by a large sabkha. There is an airport in Mécheria. History The province was ...

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

. It is the

district seat A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

the Moghrar District and has a population of 2,796, which gives it 11 seats in the PMA. Its municipal code is 4506 Two distinct oases are to be considered: Moghrar Foukani or higher Moghrar, on the Algerian National Highway number 6, the chief town; and

Moghrar Tahtani Moghrar ( ar, مغرار) is a municipalities of Algeria, municipality in Naâma Province, Algeria. It is the Capital (political), district seat the Moghrar District and has a population of 2,796, which gives it 11 seats in the People's Municipal ...

or lower Moghrar located 15 km northeast of the first locality.

Postal codes

It has several postal codes for its various

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

: *Moghrar: 45230 *Moghrar Fougani (Upper Moghrar): 45231 *Moghrar Tahtani (Lower Moghrar): 45232

Geography

Moghrar is located in the Ksour Range, western part of the

Saharan Atlas Saharan may refer to: * Someone or something from the Sahara desert * Sahrawi people (also spelled Saharawi), the indigenous people of Western Sahara * Saharan languages The Saharan languages are a small family of languages across parts of the ea ...

on the western borders of Algeria, near the Moroccan border. Moghrar is limited to the north by

Djebel Cheracher Djebel Cheracher is a mountain in Algeria. It is located in the wilaya of Naâma, in the north-west of the country, at 600 km southwest of the capital Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Al ...

; to the east by Djebel Boulerhad and to the south-east by

Djebel El Haïmeur : ''For mountains or other uses, see: Jabal.'' Djebel (1937–1958) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse, who won 15 of 22 races during 1939–1942 including the Prix d'Essai, 2000 Guineas and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was later a leading sir ...

, and by Djebel Touzamet the limit to the south. The Moghrar valley has a large drainage basin draining the entire region of Ain Sefra. It has a dry Saharan climate (about 100 mm / year ) with a cold winter and winds that blow frequently from south-west to north-west. is in winter and spring. The vegetation surrounding the palm grove is a

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

Oases of Moghrar

The oases Moghrar Foukani and

are characterized by

reg Reg or REG may refer to: * Reginald (disambiguation) * Reg or desert pavement * Raising for Effective Giving, a charity * Random event generator (parapsychology) * Raptor Education Group * Regal Entertainment Group * Regular language * .reg MS Wi ...

s, hamadas and

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

s more or less dry. The two oases have more than sixty wells for the irrigation of the gardens of the palm grove. In addition, there is also the exploitation of the traditional system of

foggara A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...

s sources (or foggara of Al Ain in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

) allowing a rational use of water. The foggaras are still functional and there are two of them.

Oued Moghrar

Oued Moghrar flows south and joins Oued Rhoubia which extends south to form Oued Namous with another tributary Oued Smar with many smaller wadis that arrive from the southern foothills of the Ksour Range.

History

Man has been living in the area for a long time. There is a rock station at Moghrar Tahtani. The ksar of this same city was the fief of an illustrious resistant to the French penetration in Algeria,

Cheikh Bouamama Cheikh Bouamama or Shaykh Bu 'Amamah ( ar, الشيخ بوعمامة) led a popular resistance against French occupation in Algeria from 1881 to 1908. Cheikh Bouamama was a leader of the tribe Awlad Sidi Shaykh. The resistance that he led in the ...

Flora and fauna

The flora is represented by the varieties of date palms Feggous and Aghrass, well preserved here while they have practically disappeared elsewhere. These varieties have the ability to be naturally preserved, exposed to the open air for a year. We also note the presence of the following species:

Hammada Scoparia ''Haloxylon scoparium'' (syns. ''Arthrophytum scoparium'' and ''Hammada scoparia'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference t ...

, Retama raetum,

Ephedra alata ''Ephedra alata'' is a species of ''Ephedra''. These plants are perennial and xerophytic gymnosperm shrubs. Description ''Ephedra alata'' is a small terrestrial shrub or Chamaephyte. It is found primarily in dry desert environments. It is a d ...

, Samolus valerandi and, at the edge of seguias or irrigation ditches,

Adiantum capillus veneris ''Adiantum'' (), the maidenhair fern, is a genus of about 250 species of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae, though some researchers place it in its own family, Adiantaceae. The genus name comes from Greek, meaning "un ...

. As for the fauna, it is a refuge zone for

gazelles A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and ''Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

and outardes houbaras. Among the ornithological species that characterize theregion, we find: the Red crossbill

Loxia curvirostra The red crossbill or common crossbill (''Loxia curvirostra'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other ...

, the Common wood pigeon Columba palumbus, the Blue rock thrush Monticola solitarius, the Bee-eater

Merops apiaster The European bee-eater (''Merops apiaster'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in southern and central Europe, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African populatio ...

, the Hoopoe Upupa epops, the Short-toed snake eagle

Circaetus gallicus The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal Bird of prey, raptors such as kite (bird), kites, buzzards ...

, the Bonelli's Eagle Hieraêtus fasciatus, the Bearded vulture Cypaetus barbatus, and the Partridge Alectoris spatzi. The migratory species are

Woodchat shrike The woodchat shrike (''Lanius senator'') is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It can be identified by its red-brown crown and nape. It is mainly insectivorous and favours open wooded areas with scattered trees such as orchards, particularl ...

(Lanius senator), Orphean warbler (Sylvia hortensis), Bonelli's warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli), Gray flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii), the

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

, the turtledove. According to the rock carvings of the region, the wildlife included Harte antelope, the gazelle, the antelope addax, the

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

and the

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

Tourism

Tourism is currently underdeveloped but there is potential. In addition to the palm grove and its irrigation system by

foggaras A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...

, and the secular ksars, there is a rock carvings station at Moghrar Tahtani, a modest museum of prehistory as well as the

zaouia A ''zawiya'' or ''zaouia'' ( ar, زاوية, lit=corner, translit=zāwiyah; ; also spelled ''zawiyah'' or ''zawiyya'') is a building and institution associated with Sufism, Sufis in the Islamic world. It can serve a variety of functions such a p ...

of Sheikh Bouamama.

References

Populated places in Naâma Province Algeria {{Naâma-geo-stub