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
Further reading
- Decalo, Samuel (1979), Historical Dictionary of Niger, London and New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0-8108-1229-0.
External links
Media related to Erg of Bilma at Wikimedia Commons- Prof. Dr. R. Baumhauer at The University of Trier's Geography center has produced a number of papers on the Geography and Paleogeography of the Erg of Bilma.
- Surviving the Sahara : National Geographic, December 2002.
Coordinates: 18°11′42″N 14°00′00″E / 18.19500°N 14.00000°E
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