Erg of Bilma

Erg of Bilma
Erg

Landscape of dunes in the Erg of Bilma.

Location of the Erg of Bilma.
Country Niger
Elevation 4,400 m (14,400 ft)
Modern Tourism in the Erg.

The Erg of Bilma is a Dune Sea (Erg) in the Ténéré desert region of the south central Sahara Desert. The Erg of Bilma stretches from Fachi, east of the Aïr Mountains in north central Niger, east past the town of Bilma, on to the Chadian border. It surrounds on three sides the oasis of Bilma, southernmost of a north south string of oasies of the Kaouar rise.

History

The ancient Bornu Empire to Fezzan caravan routes had to cross the dunes of the erg south of Bilma as the last major obstacle before reaching the sahel. While that traffic largely ceased after 1820, trade though the erg of Bilma continues from the Lake Chad region and the Termit Massif on a small scale.[1]

See also

References

  1. Geels, Jolijn (2006), Niger: The Bradt Travel Guide, London: Bradt, ISBN 1-84162-152-8.

Further reading

External links


Coordinates: 18°11′42″N 14°00′00″E / 18.19500°N 14.00000°E / 18.19500; 14.00000

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, October 28, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.