City in southern Algeria with 60,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate), at an
elevation of 1,378 metres in the Hoggar Mountains in Sahara.
It
is the capital of Tamanrasset province with 150,000 inhabitants (2005
estimate) and an area of 556,200 kmē.
The
economic base of Tamanrasset is trade for central Sahara, where it is by
far the largest city. There is some agricultural output from the region
as well, of which much is sold at the markets of Tamanrasset: citrus
fruits, peaches, apricots, dates, almonds, figs, cereals and corn. The
surrounding region is sparsely populated, but still with substantial
nomadic activity. Camels and goats are the main livestock.
Tamanrasset
is the most isolated of Algeria's larger towns. It has good road
connections with urban centres in the north, and the airport serves most
larger national airports. Algiers lies about 2,000 km north. The
southern road leads to the border crossing with Niger (300 km).
Tamanrasset
resembles more of village than a large town. Most houses are one-story
constructions, and usually painted red.
The
population are mainly Berbers and Tuareg. A large part of the population
of Tamanrasset are drought refugees from smaller communities and regions
of the Sahara.
In
the early 20th century the French explorer Charles-Eugene Foucauld
settled here, and compiled a grammar and dictionary for the Tuareg
language |
