Ténéré

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Dunes in the evening light between Fachi and Bilma
Location of the Ténéré within the Sahara

The Ténéré is a sandy desert in the southern Sahara in northern Niger and is also called the desert of deserts .

description

The name Ténéré comes from Tamascheq , the Tuareg language and means 'land out there' (also translated simply as 'desert'). Within the desert region, not far from the Tiguidit level, there is a large site of dinosaur fossils.

The Ténéré is located in the northwestern part of the Chad Basin . The northern part of the Ténéré desert is an almost board-level gravel desert. The southern part, on the other hand, consists mainly of more or less high sand dunes, some of which are over a hundred kilometers long. In the eastern part of the Ténéré is the Kaouar valley with the oases Séguédine , Anney , Dirkou and Bilma . In north-south direction, this section has an extension of around 160 km. The Ténéré is bounded to the west by the Aïr Mountains and to the northeast by the Djado plateau . The distance from the Aïr Mountains to the Kaouar Valley is around 500 km.

Salt caravan , dromedaries on the way to Bilma

North of the road Agadez - Fachi extends since 1988, the Aïr and Ténéré Nature Reserve , which since 1991 northern along with the parts of the Aïr Mountains to the World Heritage of UNESCO belongs. In this part of the desert there are sand dunes from 300m to 400m high. With 7.7 million hectares, it is the largest protected area in Africa. Since the Tuareg uprisings in 1992, the area has been on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger .

Flora and fauna

The desert is characterized by relatively barren vegetation. Short-term vegetation can occur, especially after rainfall. Then, especially the growing Burzeldorngewächs Tribulus longipetalus that Geknäulte Cyprus grass and the sweet grass Stipagrostis acutiflora . Nevertheless, numerous ungulates and even large predators such as lions and wild dogs were once found. The latter have disappeared from heavy hunting since the beginning of the 20th century. Today gazelles and antelopes still live in the vast arid regions.

A population of around 100 Mende antelopes lives in the southeast of the desert . This population had declined sharply since 1979 and was only 15 animals at times.

population

The inhabitants of the desert are mainly Tuareg. The three Tuareg tribes Kel Aïr, Iwillimidan Kel Denneg and Kel Gres ruled the area until it was occupied by the French . Other ethnic groups are Hausa , Songhai , Wodaabe (also called Fulbe Bororo) and Tubu . The Tuaregkarawanen transport as part of the Trans-Saharan trade , especially salt , which in the oases is obtained.

climate

An arid desert climate prevails in the Ténéré . However, it is divided into three seasons by the residents . The hot season lasts from March to June, in this season temperatures of over 50 ° C are reached during the day, while the daily mean temperature in June reaches 25 to 44 ° C. The average annual mean temperature is around 28 ° C. The hot season is followed by the rainy season from July to August, but there is only an average of 20 to 50 mm of precipitation per year. Precipitation in the Ténéré depends on the intensity of the West African monsoons . In years with a low monsoon intensity, the cloud belt no longer reaches the Ténéré. The rainy season is followed by the cool season from September to March, during which mean daily temperatures of 10 to 29 ° C are reached, whereby the temperature differences between day and night can be extreme. In the municipality of Iférouane , temperatures between −1 ° C and 52 ° C were measured in one day. At this time of year, the dry north-east Passat Harmattan dominates the weather in the Ténéré.

prehistory

In the early and middle Holocene , the climate of the Ténéré was completely different than it is today. The region was rich in water and had a diverse flora and fauna. In Gobero on the western edge of the desert, archaeologists found the oldest graves in the Sahara in 2008 , around 200 burials of hunters, fishermen and early animal breeders who lived in the region between 7700 and 6200 BC. BC and again from 5200 to 2500 BC Populated. Hundreds of rock carvings such as the Dabous giraffes on the edge of the Aïr Mountains testify to the diverse fauna in the Neolithic Age .

Motorsport

Several editions of the Dakar Rally led through the Ténéré . After success there, various motorcycle models from Yamaha were named after the Ténéré (see Yamaha Ténéré ), which made the name of the desert better known in Europe. The nature reserve may no longer be crossed since it was established.

Ténéré slope

f1Georeferencing Map with all the coordinates of the Ténérépiste section : OSM

The so-called Ténérépiste begins in Agadez and ends in Bilma. It starts in Agadez at kilometer 0 . First, the route leads east past the Agadez cemetery through a new building area. There is a police post at kilometer 4 . The Falaise de Tiguidit is located on the south side of the slope . At kilometer 80 there are several wood storage areas. The Tazole fountain is located at km 135 . At kilometer 160, a vertical stone marks a slope that turns south (towards the Termit massif ). The Ténéré piste branches out at kilometer 203 . The northern slope leads to the Achegour fountain . The southern slope leads to the Arbre du Ténéré ("Tree of Ténéré"). The Achegour fountain is at km 494 .

The slope branches out again at the Achegour fountain. The northern runway is known as the truck runway, the southern one as the car runway. The car runway is marked with balises (steel bars with a kilometer sign) at a distance of about one kilometer. The car runway ends in Bilma .

The southern runway (truck runway) runs from the Achegour fountain through a cut in the terrain towards the northeast. The piste initially leads north-east over a hill. In the further course it turns to the southeast. The Tenéré piste runs along the northern edge of the Kafra Mountains . At kilometer 560 there is a striking umbrella acacia . At kilometer 617 , the piste reaches the administrative center of Dirkou. From Dirkou the piste leads south to Bilma, 32 km away.

In the rainy season (June to September), the Ténéré slope between Agadez and the Tazolé fountain is difficult to drive.

The tree of the Ténéré

Arbre du Ténéré in the Ténéré desert
The original Arbre du Ténéré in the Nigerien National Museum in Niamey

In the middle of the desert was the Arbre du Ténéré , the only tree within a radius of several hundred kilometers . It is considered to be the only specimen of a tree that is or was expressly drawn on a map at a scale of 1: 4,000,000.

This tree, an umbrella acacia that was used as a landmark for caravans and truck drivers, was knocked over by a truck driver in 1973. As a specimen particularly respected by the nomads (mostly Tuareg), it had survived for centuries despite the general lack of firewood.

The Arbre du Ténéré was later brought to the Nigerien National Museum and was given a place of honor in its own pavilion. At its original location in the desert, it was initially replaced by one, and now by two, tree-like metal sculptures.

There is still a water hole at this point, but the water quality is very poor.

literature

  • René Gardi : Tenere. The desert where fish were caught. Between the Sahara and the Sahel. Report on three trips to the east of the Republic of Niger . Benteli, Bern 1978.
  • Werner Gartung: The salt caravan. With the Tuareg through the Ténéré . Reise Know-How, 2003, ISBN 3-89662-380-X .
  • Werner Gartung: The salt caravan. 1000 kilometers of desert with the Tuareg salt caravan . 2000, ISBN 3-89662-309-5 .
  • Werner Gartung: Tarhalamt. The salt caravan of the Kel Ewey Tuareg . Museum für Völkerkunde, Freiburg im Breisgau 1987, ISBN 3-923804-15-6 .

Movie

  • Trek of the Tuareg. With the salt caravan through the Sahara. Report by Walter Heinz, Germany 2004, 30 min.

Web links

Commons : Ténéré  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Air and Ténéré Natural Reserves UNESCO World Heritage (English)
  2. ↑ Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves, Niger Author: Mark McGinley from the United Nations Environment Program-World Conservation (English)

Coordinates: 17 ° 51 ′ 21 ″  N , 11 ° 21 ′ 47 ″  E