Aoulef ( ar, أولف , translit=Awlaf) 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

Aoulef District Aoulef District is a district of Adrar Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 54,909. Communes The district is further divided into 4 communes: *Aoulef *Akabli *Timokten Timokten ( ar, ﺗﻤﻘﺘﻦ) (also sp ...

, in

Adrar Province Adrar ( ar, ولاية أدرار, ber, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ) is a province (''wilaya'') in southwestern Algeria, named after its capital Adrar. It is the second-largest province, with an area of 424,948 km2, roughly the size of the US state ...

, south-central

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

. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 21,723, up from 15,229 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.7%.

Geography

The town of Aoulef lies at an elevation of on the eastern side of an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. The oasis is a part of the Tidikelt region of the central Sahara that extends from central eastern Adrar Province (where Aoulef is located) to northeast

Tamanrasset 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, mor ...

around In Salah. The oases in this region are sparser than in the

Tuat Tuat, or Touat, is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara. Geography Tuat lies to the south of the Grand Erg Occidental, to ...

and Gourara regions in which most of the population of Adrar Province live, but there are still a number of towns such as Timokten,

Akabli Akabli ( ar, أﻗﺒﻠﻰ) is a town and commune in Aoulef District, Adrar Province, in south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 10,171, up from 7,513 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.1%. Geography Th ...

, Tit and In Ghar. The nearby land is mostly flat aside from some small hills to the east; however further north the land rises to the

Tademaït Tademaït is a natural region in the Sahara Desert right in the centre of Algeria. It is located north of In Salah and south of the Grand Erg Occidental in the Adrar District of Adrar Province, El Ménia District of Ghardaïa Province and the nor ...

plateau.

Climate

Aoulef 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, nota ...

''BWh''), with long, extremely hot summers and short, very warm winters. Daytime temperatures are known to consistently approach 50 °C (122 °F) in summer and nighttime temperatures routinely remain above 30 °C (86 °F). Average annual rainfall is extremely low, with only 10 mm (0.39 in). The sky is nearly always clear throughout the year and cloudy days are extremely rare. Aoulef is often quoted as one of the hottest spots worldwide.

Transportation

Aoulef lies on the N52 national highway, which connects it to

Reggane Reggane (from Berber "Argan"; ar, رقان) is a town and commune, and the capital of Reggane District, in Adrar Province, central Algeria. Reggane lies in the Sahara Desert near an oasis. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 20,4 ...

and eventually Adrar to the west and In Salah to the east. A provincial road connects the town to Timokten, located just to the northwest of Aoulef.

Education

11.1% of the population has a tertiary education (the highest rate in the province), and another 22.4% has completed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 84.6% (second highest in the province), and is 90.9% among males (second highest in the province) and 77.1% among females.

Localities

As of 1984, the commune was composed of eight localities: *Ouamanat *Takaraft *Djedid *Gasbet Bellal *Gasbet Maïkhaf *Roukina *Zaouit Heinoume *Habbadat

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Adrar Province Communes of Adrar Province