Tamanrasset

Tamanrasset
تمنراست / ⵜⵎⵏⵘⵙⵜ
city

Tamanrasset street

Location of Tamanrasset commune within Tamanrasset Province
Tamanrasset

Location of Tamanrasset within Algeria

Coordinates: 22°47′20″N 5°31′32″E / 22.78889°N 5.52556°E / 22.78889; 5.52556Coordinates: 22°47′20″N 5°31′32″E / 22.78889°N 5.52556°E / 22.78889; 5.52556
Country  Algeria
Province Tamanrasset Province
District Tamanrasset District
Area
 • Total 37,713 km2 (14,561 sq mi)
Elevation 1,320 m (4,330 ft)
Population (2008)
 • Total 92,635
 • Density 2/km2 (5/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
Postal code 11000
Area code(s) (+213) 29
PMA seats (as of 2007) 11
ONS code 1101

Tamanrasset /tæmᵻnræsᵻt/ (Arabic: تمنراست , also known as Tamenɣest, Tamanghasset or Tamenghest, Tuareg: ⵜⵎⵏⵘⵙⵜ ) is an oasis city and capital of Tamanrasset Province in southern Algeria, in the Ahaggar Mountains. It is the chief city of the Algerian Tuareg. It is located an altitude of 1,320 metres (4,330 ft). As of the 2008 census, it has a population of 92,635,[1] up from 72,741 in 1998,[2] with an annual growth rate of 2.5%.[1]

Tamanrasset was originally established as a military outpost to guard the trans-Saharan trade routes. Surrounded by the barren Sahara Desert, very high temperatures of over 47 °C (117 °F) have been recorded here. Tamanrasset is located at an oasis where, despite the difficult climate, citrus fruits, apricots, dates, almonds, cereals, corn, and figs are grown. The Tuareg people are the town's main inhabitants. Tamanrasset is a popular tourist attraction during the cooler months. Visitors are also drawn to the Museum of the Hoggar, which offers many exhibits depicting Tuareg life and culture.

The city is served by Tamanrasset Airport and the Trans-Sahara Highway.

History

Woman in a doorway, 1916

Tamanrasset originated as the centre of a network of camel caravan trading routes from Kano, Lake Chad, Gao, Agades and Zinder.[3] When Algeria was under French rule the town was established as a military post, originally named Fort Laperrine, after General François-Henry Laperrine[4] who died in the desert nearby.

Charles de Foucauld was shot to death outside his Tamanrasset compound by Sermi ag Thora under the command of El Madani ag Soba on December 1, 1916.[5]

On 13 February 1960, during the Algerian War, Gerboise Bleue - the first French nuclear test - detonated in the middle of the Algerian Sahara desert, located about 800 km southwest of Tamanrasset.[6]

In 2003 Air Algérie Flight 6289 crashed in the city.

In 2010, the oasis town is the site of the Joint Military Staff Committee headquarters for combating Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb. The four-country Committee (Algeria, Mali, Niger, Mauritania) intends to use Tamanrasset to coordinate their military activity in the Pan-Sahel.[7]

Climate

Tamanrasset Airport
Tamanrasset viewed from the air

Tamanrasset has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), with very hot summers and mild winters. There is very little rain throughout the year, although occasional rain does fall in late summer from the northern extension of the Intertropical Convergence Zone.

Climate data for Tamanrasset
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.5
(81.5)		 29.9
(85.8)		 29.8
(85.6)		 35.0
(95)		 39.1
(102.4)		 44.7
(112.5)		 47.4
(117.3)		 47.4
(117.3)		 42.5
(108.5)		 34.8
(94.6)		 28.6
(83.5)		 27.2
(81)		 47.4
(117.3)
Average high °C (°F) 20.3
(68.5)		 22.6
(72.7)		 25.4
(77.7)		 29.5
(85.1)		 32.9
(91.2)		 35.2
(95.4)		 34.6
(94.3)		 34.1
(93.4)		 32.5
(90.5)		 28.8
(83.8)		 24.3
(75.7)		 21.0
(69.8)		 28.43
(83.18)
Daily mean °C (°F) 12.8
(55)		 15.0
(59)		 18.1
(64.6)		 22.2
(72)		 26.1
(79)		 28.9
(84)		 28.7
(83.7)		 28.2
(82.8)		 26.5
(79.7)		 22.4
(72.3)		 17.3
(63.1)		 13.9
(57)		 21.68
(71.02)
Average low °C (°F) 5.3
(41.5)		 7.3
(45.1)		 10.7
(51.3)		 14.9
(58.8)		 19.2
(66.6)		 22.6
(72.7)		 22.7
(72.9)		 22.2
(72)		 20.5
(68.9)		 15.9
(60.6)		 10.3
(50.5)		 6.7
(44.1)		 14.86
(58.75)
Record low °C (°F) −5.3
(22.5)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 0.4
(32.7)		 4.7
(40.5)		 6.9
(44.4)		 7.2
(45)		 7.0
(44.6)		 5.7
(42.3)		 −0.1
(31.8)		 0.0
(32)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 −5.3
(22.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 1.3
(0.051)		 1.3
(0.051)		 2.6
(0.102)		 1.8
(0.071)		 6.2
(0.244)		 3.9
(0.154)		 4.8
(0.189)		 5.6
(0.22)		 8.3
(0.327)		 3.2
(0.126)		 2.1
(0.083)		 1.8
(0.071)		 42.9
(1.689)
Average relative humidity (%) 29 31 26 27 29 24 21 25 26 29 32 31 27.5
Source #1: NOAA (1961–1990)[8]
Source #2: Weatherbase (extremes, humidity)[9]

Education

4.3% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 14.1% has completed secondary education.[10] The overall literacy rate is 69.8%, and is 78.4% among males and 60.8% among females.[11]

Localities

The commune is composed of 14 localities:[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Population: Tamanrasset Wilaya" (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "Algeria Communes". Statoids. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  3. ↑ John Gunther, "Inside Africa" Hamish Hamilton, page132
  4. ↑ fr:François-Henry Laperrine
  5. ↑ Fleming, Fergus. The Sword and the Cross: Two Men and an Empire of Sand. New York: Grove Press, 2003.
  6. ↑ French Senate report #179: The first French tests in the Sahara
  7. ↑ "Saharan states to open joint military headquarters". BBC News. 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  8. ↑ "Climate Normals for Tamanrasset". Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  9. ↑ "Weatherbase: Weather for Tamanrasset, Algeria". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved on November 22, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Structure relative de la population résidente des ménages ordinaires et collectifs âgée de 6 ans et plus selon le niveau d'instruction et la commune de résidence." (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  11. ↑ "Taux d'analphabétisme et taux d'alphabétisation de la population âgée de 15 ans et plus, selon le sexe et la commune de résidence ." (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Décret n° 84-365, fixant la composition, la consistance et les limites territoriale des communes. Wilaya d'El Oued" (PDF) (in French). Journal officiel de la République Algérienne,. 19 December 1984. p. 1551. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2013 or before. Retrieved 2 March 2013. Check date values in: |archive-date= (help)

External links

Adrar
In Amguel
Tit		 Ouargla
Idlès
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Izernène
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Tarhaouhaout
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Tin Zaouatine Amsel
In Guezzam		 Talan Teidit
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Tamanrasset.
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