Atar (,
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
for ''mountain'') is a town in northwestern
Mauritania
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
, the capital of the
Adrar Region
Adrar () is a large administrative region in Mauritania, named for the Adrar Plateau. The capital is Atar. Other major towns include Choum, Chinguetti and Ouadane. The region borders Western Sahara and the Mauritanian region of Tiris Zemm ...
and the main settlement on the
Adrar Plateau. Situated on the
Oued Seguellil, it is home to an
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
, a museum and a historic mosque, constructed in 1674.
In 2023, it had a population of 35,170.
Geology and geography
The Adrar's mountains are from the primary era against the
precambrian
The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...
Tiris Zemmour. Near Atar, you can find
stromatolite
Stromatolites ( ) or stromatoliths () are layered Sedimentary rock, sedimentary formation of rocks, formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by Photosynthesis, photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing micr ...
s. In the North, you can find
Choum with the train that comes from
Nouadhibou and goes to
Zouerate. East of Atar, through
Amojjar Pass, is the difficult way to
Chinguetti,
Ouadane and the astonishing
Richat Structure.
Climate
Atar 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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BWh'') typical of the
Sahara Desert
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
, south of the tropic of Cancer. The weather is usually very hot, very sunny and very dry but it can be overcast sometimes. The annual average temperature is close to 30 °C (86 °F), meaning that excessive heat persists year-round. The annual mean rainfall amount is very low, averaging no more than 35 mm and it mainly falls in August and in September while the sunshine duration is high, at over 3,540 h of bright sunshine yearly. In 2019,
Khadijetou Lekweiry reported the first appearance of the ''
Plasmodium vivax
''Plasmodium vivax'' is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria. Although it is less virulent than ''Plasmodium falciparum'', the deadliest of the five huma ...
'' parasite in the town.
Tourism

Today, the Atar is best known to outsiders as an entryway for tourists to visit the ruins of the ancient Moorish cities of
Ouadane and
Chinguetti. It was a key stop in the world's longest off-road race, the
Paris Dakar Rally, held every January.
Small business sector
The "samaras" (from Arab smela : sole) are made in Atar and well known in Mauritania. It's a leather sole with straps.
Military
In 2012, an air force school was founded in Atar to train pilots and crew for the
Military of Mauritania.
Notable people
*
Med Hondo - film director (1936–2019)
*
Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya - 5th
President of Mauritania (born 1941)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Regional capitals in Mauritania
Communes of Adrar region