Bir el Ater

Bir El Ater
بئر العاتر
District
Bir El Ater
Coordinates: 34°44′55″N 8°03′29″E / 34.74861°N 8.05806°E / 34.74861; 8.05806
Country  Algeria
Province Tébessa Province
Districts Bir El Ater
Area
  Total 588 sq mi (1,522 km2)
Population (2008)
  Total 100,000
  Density 170/sq mi (66/km2)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
Post code 12001

Bir el Ater (Arabic: بئر العاتر) is a city of approximately 100,000 inhabitants located in extreme eastern Algeria towards the south, near the Tunisian borders and just beyond the Sahara, about 87 kilometers south of Tebessa.

Bir El Ater was the cradle of the Aterian civilization (the term Aterian derives from el-Ater) which was around 40000 – 20000 years BC.

It is now a mining city, located 15 km south of Bir El Ater. There are deposits of Djebel Onk Phosphates, the largest in Algeria which are extracted and shipped by train to Annaba a port, 300 km north on the Mediterranean or are used locally.

Historical population[1]
Year Population
1987 33,400
1998 53,200
2008 77,727
2010 100,000

References

Coordinates: 34°44′59″N 8°03′28″E / 34.74972°N 8.05778°E / 34.74972; 8.05778


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