The Oued Meraldene or Oued Merabtene, also called Oued Bourdine, is a river of

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

located in

Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...

within the framework of the Province of Boumerdès.

Presentation

The ''Meraldène'' stream is one of the main

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

of the

Boumerdès River Boumerdès ( ar, بومرداس; Kabyle: Bumerdas; formerly ''Rocher Noir'') is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 28,500 in 1998 and 15,000 in 1987. Boumerdès is a s ...

which is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

that finds its

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. This river takes its source in the heights of the current commune of

Beni Amrane Beni Amrane is a town and commune in Boumerdès Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 21,452. Villages The villages of the commune of ''Beni Amrane'' are: History French conquest * Expedition of the Col des B ...

in the

Khachna Massif The Khachna Range ( ar, جبال الخشنة, ''Jibal Khashna''; Berber ''Adrar n Kheshna'') is a mountain range of the Tell Atlas, part of the Atlas Mountain System. It is located in Kabylie, Algeria. Geography The ''Khachna'' is a massif m ...

which shelters the peak of . At an altitude of 590 meters above sea level near the villages of Beni Khelifa and Azela, ''Oued Meraldene'' is born to take its course on a

river bed A stream bed or streambed is the bottom of a stream or river (bathymetry) or the physical confine of the normal water flow (channel). The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream banks or river banks, during all but flood st ...

that juts out into the current town of

Thénia Thénia (), sometimes written as ''Thenia'', with around 40,000 inhabitants, is the chief town in the daïra of the same name, in the wilaya of Boumerdès, in northern Algeria. Historically, the name is a contraction of ''Theniet Beni Aicha'' (ث� ...

. This area is rich in

water resource Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightl ...

s thus feeds the

Oued 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 ...

which then traces its route between the villages of

Tabrahimt Tabrahimt is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria. Location The village is surrounded by Meraldene and the town of Thenia in the ''Khachna'' mountain range. Zawiya * Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki History This village has experi ...

Meraldene Meraldene or Merabtene is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria. Location The village is surrounded by Meraldene River, the Meraldene Dam and the town of Thénia in the Khachna mountain range. Zawiya * Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki ...

Gueddara Gueddara is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria. Location The village is surrounded by Meraldene River and the town of Thenia in the ''Khachna'' mountain range. Zawiya * Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki History This village has expe ...

Soumâa Soumâa or Thala Oufella is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria. Location The village is surrounded by Meraldene River and Isser River, and also the town of Thenia in the Khachna mountain range. Zawiya * Zawiyet Sidi Bous ...

Tizouighine Tizouighine is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers ...

before reaching the plateau of the village Louz.

Mouth

The ''Meraldene River'' rises in

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

especially during the winter and the ''Oued'' becomes impassable and dangerous, and causes floods that spread to the village of ''Louz'' beyond which it finds its

with the

which springs also from the heights of ''Beni Amrane'' and then flows into the ''Mediterranean''. It is because of the ''floods'' and the rising waters of the two ''Oueds'' at the level of this ''mouth'' that a bridge was built on the ' to pass the water and not to block road traffic.

Dam

Given the profusion of water flowing through Oued Meraldene, a

hydraulic dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

was built to store part of its flowing water. The ''

Meraldene Dam The Meraldene Dam, or Barrage Meraldene, is an embankment dam on the Meraldene River, located at southwest of Thénia in Boumerdès Province within Kabylia in Algeria. Construction The design of this project was entrusted to the engineer-arc ...

'' was built between 1911 and 1913 to provide answers to economic questions related to the continuous supply of drinking water, often so difficult to achieve. This is how on 26 February 1913, this important dam was completed and inaugurated and on its final acceptance. It is a hydraulic structure 14 meters high by 70 meters wide, blocking the Meraldene Valley, and which can hold a water volume of 30,000 cubic meters. This stored water was intended for supplying machine depots and railway workshops in the city of

concurrently with the direct intake 300 meters upstream. The design of this important hydraulic structure made it possible to collect sufficient water for the industrial needs of the ''Thénia'' region. Its final acceptance was made with the dam full, with all the conditions that were met such as the connection of electricity to operate its pumps.

Gallery

File:Dam of Meraldene, Barrage de Merabtene, Thenia, Kabylie.jpg, ''Meraldene Dam'' File:Col de Ténia.jpg,

Meraldene Ravin Meraldene or Merabtene is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria. Location The village is surrounded by Meraldene River, the Meraldene Dam and the town of Thénia in the Khachna mountain range. Zawiya * Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki ...

. File:Plan de Thénia des Béni Aïcha dans le territoire des Khachna à l'est d'Alger.jpg,

External links

References

{{Rivers of Algeria Rivers of Algeria Boumerdès Province

Presentation

Mouth

Dam

Gallery

See also

External links

References