The Wilaya of Béni Abbas () is an Algerian Province created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is in the Algerian Sahara.

Geography

The wilaya of Béni Abbès is in the Algerian Sahara; its area is 101,350 km². It is delimited: * to the north by the

Béchar Province Béchar () is a Provinces of Algeria, province ''(Wilayah, wilaya)'' in Algeria, located on the border with Morocco in the Algerian Desert, Algerian Sahara. It is the second least-densely populated province in Algeria, with a population of 353591 ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

; * to the east by the

Timimoun Province The Wilaya of Timimoun () is an Algerian province created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of Timimoun is in the Algerian Desert, Algerian Sahara; its area is 131,22 ...

; * to the west by the

Tindouf Province Tindouf, also written Tinduf (), is the westernmost province of Algeria, having a population of 58,193 as of the 2008 census (not including the Sahrawi refugees at the Sahrawi refugee camps). Its population in reality could be as high as 160,00 ...

; * and to the south by the

and

Adrar Province Adrar (, ) is a province ('' wilaya'') in southwestern Algeria, named after its capital Adrar. It is the second-largest province, with an area of 254 000 km2, roughly the size of the US state of Wyoming. It had 401.297 inhabitants at the ...

. The greater part of the province is uninhabitable sand dune fields (

erg The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10−7joules (100Nano-, nJ). It is not an SI unit, instead originating from the centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS). Its name is derived from (), a Greek language, Greek word meaning 'work' or ' ...

s), in particular the Great Western Erg and the Erg Er Raoui, or dry plains (

hamada A hamada (, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky (basalt) plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by Aeolian processes#Wind erosion, deflation. The majority of the Sahara is hamada. Other e ...

s) suitable for grazing but with insufficient surface water to support agriculture. Most settlements are concentrated in oases along the

Saoura The Saoura () is a valley in southwestern Algeria. It is formed by the wadi known as Oued Saoura, formed from the confluence of the Oued Guir and Oued Zouzfana at Igli.] From Igli it runs through Béchar Province past the towns of Béni Abbès ...

valley and its tributaries. An aquifer under the Erg Er Raoui supports the main exception,

Tabelbala Tabelbala (, , Korandje: ''tsawərbəts'') is a town and commune between Béchar and Tindouf in south-western Algeria, and is the capital, and only significant settlement, of the Daïra of the same name, encompassing most of the western half of ...

. Natural resources include

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

in the south in Djebel Ben Tagine.

History

The oases' traditional economic basis was agriculture, notably growing

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

s and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

. The inhabitants of Igli speak

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 ...

, and those of

a Songhay language, Korandje; elsewhere, Arabic is spoken. Many of the oases had significant populations of

haratin The Haratin (, singular ''Ḥarṭānī''), also spelled Haratine or Harratin, are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western ...

or . A notable

zaouia A ''zawiya'' or ''zaouia'' (; ; also spelled ''zawiyah'' or ''zawiyya'') is a building and institution associated with Sufis in the Islamic world. It can serve a variety of functions such a place of worship, school, monastery and/or mausoleum. ...

(traditional religious school) is found at

Kerzaz Kerzaz () is a town and commune, and capital of Kerzaz District, in Béchar Province, western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 5,028, up from 4,276 in 1998, and its annual growth rate is 1.7%. The commune covers an area ...

. The region also supported a substantial mainly Arab pastoralist nomadic population, notably the Ghenanma,

Chaamba The Chaamba () are an Arab tribe in the northern Sahara of central Algeria. They are a large tribe of Bedouins and live in a large desert territory to the south of the Atlas Mountains, around Metlili, El Golea, Ouargla, El Oued, and the Grea ...

, and Reguibat; some of these still remain nomadic, but most have settled in the oases. Trans-Saharan trade routes passing through this region played an important role in its economy in pre-modern times, but have at present been superseded.

Administrative divisions

The province is made up of 6

districts 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 ...

and 10

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. The districts are: # Béni Abbès #

# El Ouata #

# Ouled Khodeïr # Igli The municipalities are: # Beni Abbes # Beni Ikhlef # El Ouata # Igli #

Ksabi Ksabi () is a town and commune in Ouled Khodeïr District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 3,187, up from 2,656 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 1.9%. The commune covers an area of . Ge ...

Ouled Khoudir Ouled Khoudir () is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Ouled Khoudir District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 4,251, up from 3,893 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.9%. The comm ...

# Tamtert #

Timoudi Timoudi (Arabic: ﺗﻴﻤﻮدى) is a town and commune in Kerzaz District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 2,389, up from 2,116 in 1998, with an annual population growth rate of 1.2%. The ar ...

History

The wilaya of Béni Abbès was created on November 26, 2019 . Previously, it was a delegated wilaya, created according to the law n° 15–140 of May 27, 2015, creating administrative districts in certain wilayas and fixing the specific rules related to them, as well as the list of municipalities that are attached to it. Before 2019, it was attached to the

Organization of the wilaya

During the administrative breakdown of 2015, the delegated wilaya of Béni Abbès is made up of 10

communes 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 3

Districts 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 ...

List of walis

References

{{Authority control Provinces of Algeria Sahara States and territories established in 2019