| Ahaggar Mountains | |
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 An oasis in the Ahaggar Mountains
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| Country | Algeria |
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| Highest point | Mount Tahat |
| - elevation | 3,003 m (9,852 ft) |
| - coordinates | 23°17′0″N 05°31′0″E / 23.283333°N 5.516667°E |
| Ahaggar National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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 Locator map |
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| Location | Tamanrasset Province, Algeria |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Tamanrasset |
| Coordinates | 22°50′N 5°20′E / 22.833°N 5.333°E |
| Area | 3,800 km² |
| Established | 1987 |
The Ahaggar Mountains (Arabic: جبال هقار, Tuareg: idurar uhaggar), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, or southern Algeria near the Tropic of Cancer. They are located about 1,500 km (900 mi) south of the capital, Algiers and just west of Tamanghasset. The region is largely rocky desert with an average altitude of more than 900 metres (2,953 feet) above sea level. The highest peak is at 3,003 meters (Mount Tahat). Assekrem is a famous and often visited point where le Père de Foucauld lived in the summer of 1905. The main city nearby the Ahaggar is Tamanghasset, built in a desert valley or wadi.
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Environment
The Hoggar Mountain range is chiefly volcanic rock and contains a hot summer climate, with a cold winter climate (temperatures fall below 0°C in the winter). The mountains are young--about 2 million years old. Rainfall is rare and sporadic. However, since the climate is less extreme than in most other areas of the Sahara, the Ahaggar Mountains are a major location for biodiversity and host relict species. The Ahaggar Mountains compose the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion. It is also one of the national parks of the country.
Lycaon dogs
Slightly to the west of the Ahaggar range a population of the Critically endangered Saharan Wild Dog were viable into the 20th century, but now the Painted Hunting Dog is thought to be extirpated within this entire region.[1] However some natives still report attacks by unidentified canines, similar to lycaon (Farid Belbachir, pers.comm.).[citation needed] Camera trapping should confirm whether or not this most elusive of African canines continues to exist in the mountain range.
He collection as much information as possible about lycaon reported sightings in Ahaggar and Tassili and future camera trapping in these locations might disclose what he are looking for one day. Next round of camera trapping due 2010 summer will capture "something" and that Amel's genetic analysis of all the carnivores' scats that will be collected will yield some interesting results (Farid Belbachir, pers.comm.).[citation needed]
Other Carnivores
In scats collection they records of presence of unidentifed jackals, leopards, saharan cheetahs, gennets, mongoses (include species unresolved), wild cats, fennecs, ruppell's foxes, and some unknown and unrecognize canids (14 samples of canids DNA, extraction from feacal analysis, include "mountain fennec" and many more endangered Canis species).
Cultural significance
Prehistoric settlement is evident from extant rock paintings dating to 6000 BC.[2] The Ahaggar massif is the land of the Tuaregs or Kel Ahaggar. The tomb of Tin Hinan, the god believed to be the ancestor of the Tuareg is located at Abalessa, an oasis near Tamanghasset. According to legend, the origins of Tim Lam are from Tafilalt region in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains.
See also
References
- Peter Haggett. 2001. Encyclopedia of World Geography, Published by Marshall Cavendish, 3456 pages ISBN 0761472894, 9780761472896
- C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
Line notes
Gallery
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External links
Coordinates: 23°17′19″N 5°32′03″E / 23.28861°N 5.53417°E
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