Touat

Natural region in AlgeriaTouat TuwatNatural regionTowns in the Touat RegionTopographic map of Algeria with the location of the Touat region.CountryAlgeriaElevation260 m (850 ft) AdrarReggane Location of Tuat in Algeria. Reggane lies at the southern boundary of the region while Adrar is near the northern boundary. Tuat, or Touat (Arabic: توات, romanized: Tuwāt), is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara. Geography Tuat lies to the south of the Grand Erg Occidental, to the east of the Erg Chech and to the south west of the Tademaït plateau. It contains a string of small oases strung out along the eastern edge of the Wadi Messaoud, a continuation of the Wadi Saoura. The oases extend over a distance of 160 kilometres (99 mi) from the district of Bouda in the north to Reggane in the south. The largest town in the region is Adrar, 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Bouda. Adrar was established by the French after their conquest in 1900 and had a population of 43,903 in 2002. Associated with each oasis are small walled villages called ksour (singular ksar or gsar). There are