The Hodna (french: Le Hodna) is a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

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

located between the Tell and

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 ...

ranges at the eastern end of the ''

Hautes Plaines The Hautes Plaines ("High Plains", ar, الهضاب العليا), also known as Hauts Plateaux, is a steppe-like natural region located in the Atlas Mountains in northern Algeria. It stretches more than in an east northeast – west southwes ...

''. It is a vast depression lying in the northeastern section of

M'Sila Province ber, ⵎⵙⵉⵍⴰ ') is a province (''wilaya'') of northern Algeria. It has a population of 1 million people and an area of 18,718 km², while its capital, also called M'sila, home to M'Sila University, has a population of about 100,00 ...

and the western end of

Batna Province Batna Province ( ar, ولاية باتنة, Latn, ar, Wilāyat Bātnah) is a province of Algeria, in the region of Aurès. The capital is Batna. Localities in this province include N'Gaous, Merouana and Timgad. Belezma National Park is in th ...

Geography

The Hodna region has a length of about 120 km in an NW - SE direction and a width of about 80 km. It is characterized by the

Chott El Hodna The ''Chott el Hodna'' ( ar, شط الحضنة) is a very shallow saline lake in Algeria. It is located within an endorheic basin in the Hodna region, towards the eastern end of the ''Hautes Plaines''. The ''Chott el Hodna'' includes seasonal bra ...

, an

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 ...

salt lake, in its centre with seasonal

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

and saline pools and marshes. A thin film of water collects during wet seasons on the level terrain of the large lake basin, which becomes a salt flat when it dries. The elevation of the lake's surface is slightly below 400 m, while the surrounding steppe-like plain, characterized by wadis and oases, averages between 500 and 600 meters in elevation in the communes near the lake. The Hodna natural region gives its name to the Hodna Mountains located to the north. Its southern limit is marked by the Ouled Nail Range. There are no mountains in its western limit, where the plateau stretches further westwards. The northern part of the Hodna is composed of

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

and the southern part is mainly sandy. The lowest area of the basin is covered by the '' sebkha'', the salt lake, with a surface of 76 000 ha of naked salty clay that is seldom covered with water and is completely devoid of vegetation. The Hodna is a steppe where the climate is harsh, with very dry summers, cold winters and very irregular precipitation. Formerly all the inhabitants of the Hodna were

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...

s. The soil is poor and local agriculture is limited to the grazing of sheep and goats on grassy high plateau areas and to some cereal cultivation. There are uncultivated areas of ''djerr'', small hillocks, to the north and to the east. The mountains have good reserves of water and there are freshwater springs in the area, but historically they have not been properly exploited.J. Despois ''Le Hodna (Algérie)''
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References

External links

Mohamed Meouak, ''Le Hodna occidental entre régions méditerranéennes et plaines désertiques : organisation des terroirs, communautés rurales et productions agricoles au Moyen Âge''

Persée : L'évolution du nomadisme dans les hautes plaines

Introduction: Les hautes plaines de l'Est de l'Algérie
Geography of Algeria Natural regions of Africa Geography of M'Sila Province Geography of Batna Province {{Batna-geo-stub

Geography

See also

References

External links