Ahaggar
| Ahaggar | ||
|---|---|---|
 Iharen, phonolite at Tamanrasset |
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| Highest peak | Tahat ( 2908 m ) | |
| location | Algeria | |
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| Coordinates | 23 ° 17 ' N , 5 ° 32' E | |
The Ahaggar (also Hoggar , Arabic جبال هقار, tamazight ⵉⴷⵓⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴰⵀⴰⴳⴳⴰⵔ Idurar n Ahaggar ) is a mountain range of volcanic origin in southern Algeria . For the most part, the Ahaggar is located in Algeria, but also includes parts of the Niger in the south.
Nature and culture
Its highest mountain ( 2908 m ) is the Tahat in the Atakor volcanic field. The Ahaggar is known for its bizarre rocky landscapes, with its distinctive elevations being eroded volcanic vents. The Ahaggar lies at the level of the Tropic of Capricorn , about 1500 km south of the Algerian capital Algiers . At 543,900 km², its area is roughly the size of France. The area is mostly inhabited by Tuaregs . The largest oasis in the Ahaggar region is Tamanrasset . Other inhabited oases are Ideles , Hirhafok , In Ekker and Tit .
The summit of Mount Assekrem is a particularly popular place because Charles de Foucauld built a hermitage there in 1911 .
In the 1960s, the In Ekker nuclear weapons test site was part of the French nuclear weapons program in Algeria . Radioactive fallout contaminated the site and large swathes of land.
fauna
A little west of the Ahaggar in the Teffedest Mountains , the African wild dog, which appears in various rock engravings, survived until the 20th century . However, it now seems to have been eradicated in this region. Cheetahs are extremely rare .
Cultural meaning
Numerous rock carvings are known from the Ahaggar . Archaeological sites document the settlement since the Paleolithic . There are rock paintings and engravings that suggest that prehistoric settlements as early as 6000 BC. Were present. The Ahaggar massif is particularly the habitat of the Kel Ahaggar . The tomb of Tin Hinan , an ancestor of the Tuareg at the Abalessa, is near Tamanrasset . She was the mythical ancestor and the first queen of the Ahaggar-Tuareg and founded the Kel Ahaggar community in the region.
environment
The Ahaggar Mountains consist primarily of mountains of volcanic origin. The climatic conditions are characterized by hot summers and cold winters. Rain falls only sporadically and is a rarity. Even in the high elevations of the Ahaggar region, only dry valleys can be found. One of them can be assigned to Wadi Igharghar . Nevertheless, a biodiversity has developed that was able to promote a biodiversity that has hardly been preserved. Today the region forms a national park in Algeria.
See also
literature
- Abalessa. In: Hellmut Brunner, Klaus Flessel, Friedrich Hiller (eds.): Lexicon of old cultures. Vol. 1. Meyers Lexikonverlag, Mannheim 1990, ISBN 3-411-07301-2 , p. 10.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Birgit Agada, Adolf Schuster: Algeria: Culture and nature between the Mediterranean and the Sahara, The Ahaggar
- ^ RW McColl: Encyclopedia of World Geography, Volume 1, Ahaggar Mountains
- ↑ Anthony Ham Sattin, Anthony Nana Luckham, Algeria (Lonely Planet. Page 188, 2007) ISBN 1741790999
- ↑ C. Michael Hogan, PhD
- ↑ A Report from the sahelo saharan interest Group - Parc National De L'Ahaggar survey , Algeria (March 2005) (PDF; 557 kB)
- ↑ Peter Haggett, Encyclopedia of World Geography (see Lit.)
- ↑ published by Christian Elfie Reder, Institut Semotan for Media Art, Vienna, Art and Knowledge Transfer Sahara: Text and Image Essays , p. 343
