Béchar ( Arabic : ولاية بشار ) is a province ( wilaya ) in Algeria , located on the border with Morocco in the Algerian Sahara . It is the second least-densely populated province in Algeria. Its capital and biggest city is Béchar .
6-580: The greater part of the province is dry plains ( hamadas ) suitable for grazing but with insufficient surface water to support agriculture. Most settlements are therefore concentrated in oases along the Saoura valley and its tributaries. Natural resources include coal deposits in the north around Bechar and Kenadsa . The oases' traditional economic basis was agriculture, notably growing date palms and grain . The inhabitants of several oases, notably Ouakda, Lahmar and Boukais , speak Berber languages, while
12-531: A minor village began only in the early 20th century, has become the principal urban and administrative centre. The region has a distinctive musical scene influenced by sub-Saharan African rhythms , whose best known representative is the Gnawi singer Hasna El Becharia. Another locally well-known group is El Sed, from Kenadsa. Disagreements between Morocco and Algeria over their mutual border in this province and Tindouf led to conflict after Algeria's independence,
18-425: Is removed through saltation and surface creep , leaving behind a landscape of gravel , boulders and bare rock. Hamada is related to desert pavement (known variously as reg, serir, gibber, or saï), which occurs as stony plains or depressions covered with gravels or boulders rather than as highland plateaus. Hamadas exist in contrast to ergs , which are large areas of shifting sand dunes . Hammada ,
24-613: The sand has been removed by deflation . The majority of the Sahara is hamada. Other examples are Negev desert in Israel and the Tinrhert plateau [ it ] in Algeria. Hamadas are produced by the wind, which removes the fine products of weathering, an aeolian process known as deflation. The finer-grained products are taken away in suspension. At the same time, the sand
30-672: The rest speak Arabic and Korandje. Many of the oases had significant populations of shurfa or Haratin peoples . There is a notable zaouia (traditional religious school) at Kenadsa. The region also supported a substantial mainly Arab pastoralist nomadic population, notably the Doui-Menia and Ouled Djerir ; most or all have settled in the oases. Trans-Saharan trade routes passing through this region played an important role in its economy in pre-modern times, but have at present been superseded. A small tourism industry exists, focused particularly on Taghit . Béchar, whose growth from
36-483: The so-called Sand War . The province was created from the Saoura department in 1974. In 1984 Tindouf Province was carved out of its territory. In 2019 Béni Abbès Province followed. The province is made up of 6 districts and 11 municipalities . The districts are: The municipalities are: Hamada A hamada ( Arabic : حمادة , ḥammāda ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky ( basalt ) plateaus, where most of
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