Kénadsa is a town and commune in 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 ...

of south-western

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, and is the capital of Kénadsa District,

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 ...

. As of 2008, Kénadsa had a population of 13,492, up from 11,667 in 1998, and an annual growth rate of 1.5%. The commune covers an area of . There is a large longwave broadcasting station near Kénadsa.

Geography

Kénadsa lies at an elevation of on the flat rocky

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 ...

west of

Béchar Béchar () is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.1% ...

. The

wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

Oued Meswar is located about west of the town, and meets the Oued Guir near Abadla at the locality of Ksi Ksou.

Climate

Kénadsa 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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: BWh), with extremely hot summers and mild winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year.

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is an important industry in Kénadsa. The commune has a total of of

arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

, but only is

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has be ...

. There are a total of 67,000 date palms planted in the commune. As of 2009 there were 3,757

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

, 4,592

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s, 1,507

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

s, and 163

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

. There were also 4000

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

s in 22 buildings. There is some tourism in Kénadsa; attractions include sand dunes, palm groves, the old

ksar Ksar or qṣar (), in plural ksour or qsour (), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh). The equivalent Berber languages, Berber term used is ' ( ...

and forts, and the dam across the Oued Meswar. Visitors to Kénadsa typically stay in Béchar since there are no hotels in Kénadsa. There are also

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

fields near Kénadsa. They were originally discovered in 1907, but mining activity did not begin until 1917. Output peaked in the 1940s and has declined since, due to competition from oil and gas fields in eastern Algeria. There are also deposits of

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

and

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

nearby, but these are largely unused.

Infrastructure and housing

100% of Kénadsa's population is connected to drinking water and to the sewerage system, 97% (including 2,707 buildings) have access to electricity. There are two fuel service stations in the town. Kénadsa has a total of 2,613 houses, of which 2,142 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 6.3 inhabitants per occupied building.

Transportation

Kénadsa lies on a local road connecting Méridja to the west with Béchar to the east. Kénadsa is from Béchar and from Méridja. There is a total length of of roads in the commune.

Education

There are 4 elementary schools, with 65 classrooms including 48 in use. There are a total of 2,562 school students. 7.2% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 22.6% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 84.6%, and is 91.2% among men and 78.2% among women.

Health

Kénadsa has 5 room care facilities and a maternity ward; for other health care residents must travel to

Culture

Kénadsa has a cinema with 350 seats. Notable authors born in Kénadsa include Yasmina Khadra, Malika Mokeddem, and Pierre Rabhi.

Religion

Kénadsa has 3 operational

mosques A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple p ...

, with another 2 under construction.

Localities

The commune is composed of three localities: *Kenadsa *Barrage Djorf Torba *Masky

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenadsa Communes of Béchar Province