Lahmar ( ar, اﻻﺣﻤﺮ) 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 Lahmar District, in

Béchar Province Béchar ( ar, ولاية بشار) is the second least-densely populated province (''wilaya'') in Algeria, named after its capital Béchar. History The greater part of the province is dry plains (hamadas) suitable for grazing but with insuffic ...

, western

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

. According to the 2008 census its population is 1,969, up from 1,404 in 1998, and its population growth rate is 3.5%, the highest in the province. The commune covers an area of .

Geography

Lahmar lies at an altitude of on a rocky plain with scattered higher mountains to the east. One prominent range of hills is just to the east, and separates Lahmar from the nearby locality of Sfissifa.

Climate

Lahmar 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 deser ...

, with very hot summers and cool winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year. Winter nights can be quite chilly due to Lahmar's altitude.

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

is the main industry in Lahmar. The commune has a total of of

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "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 th ...

, of which is

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering) 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 been devel ...

. There are a total of 57,000

date palms ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Eas ...

planted in the commune. As of 2009 there were 8,430

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticated ...

, 2,003

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

, and 80

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

, the highest number of cattle for any commune in the province. There were also 106,800 chickens in 3 buildings, and 165 bee hives.

Infrastructure and housing

100% of Lahmar's population is connected to drinking water, 100% are connected to the sewerage system, and 99% (including 562 buildings) have access to electricity. There are no fuel service stations in the town; the nearest is in Béchar. Lahmar has a total of 607 houses, of which 361 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 5.5 inhabitants per occupied building. This is the lowest such rate in Béchar Province.

Transportation

A local road leads to the provincial capital of

Béchar Béchar ( ar, بشار) 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 ...

, to the south. Other tracks lead north to the town of Mogheul, and west to the town of

Boukaïs Boukaïs ( ar, ﻳﺲ ﺑﻮﻗﺎ) is a town and commune in Lahmar District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 970, up from 890 in 1998, and its annual population growth rate is 0.9%. The commun ...

. There is a total length of of roads in the commune.

Education

There are 2 elementary schools, with 11 classrooms including 9 in use. There are a total of 539 school students. 3.3% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 16.3% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 88.1%, and is 92.7% among males and 83.2% among females - all the highest in the province.

Health

Lahmar has a polyclinic, a room care facility and a maternity ward. The nearest hospital is in Béchar.

Religion

Lahmar has 3 operational mosques, with another 1 under construction.

Localities

Lahmar consists of two localities: *Lahmar * Sfissifa Sfissifa is east of Lahmar.

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Béchar Province Communes of Béchar Province