Tassili n'Ajjer
| Tassili n'Ajjer National Park | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category II (National Park) | |
| Location: | Algeria |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 72,000 km² |
| Established: | 1972 |
The Tassili n'Ajjer (It is a name from the Berber language, and it is known as "التاسيلي" (Tassili) in Arabic and its English name is: "Tassili Plateau") is a mountain range in the Sahara desert in southeast Algeria, North Africa. It extends about 500 km from east-south-east to , and the highest point is Adrar Afao, 2158 m, at . The nearest town is Djanet, about 10 km southwest of the range.
Much of the range, including the cypresses and archaeological sites (see below), is protected in a National park, Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site, named the Tassili n'Ajjer National Park.
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Geology
The range is composed largely of sandstone. Erosion in the area has resulted in nearly 300 natural rock arches being formed, along with many other spectacular landforms.
Ecology
Because of the altitude and the water-holding properties of the sandstone, the vegetation is somewhat richer than the surrounding desert; it includes a very scattered woodland of the endangered endemic species Saharan Cypress and Saharan Myrtle in the higher eastern half of the range.
The ecology of the Tassili n'Aljer is more fully described in the article West Saharan montane xeric woodlands, the ecoregion to which this area belongs. The literal English translation of "Tassili n'Ajjer" is 'Plateau of the rivers'; indicating a time when the climate was far more wet than today.
Prehistoric art
The range is also noted for its prehistoric rock paintings and other ancient archaeological sites, dating from neolithic times when the local climate was much moister, with savannah rather than desert.
Further reading
- Bahn P -G (1998) The Cambridge illustrated history of prehistoric art. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
- Bradley R (2000) An archaeology of natural places. London, Routledge.
- Bruce-Lockhart J and Wright J (2000) Difficult and dangerous roads: Hugh Clapperton's travels in the Sahara and Fezzan 1822-1825.
- Chippendale C and Tacon S -C (eds) (1998) The archaeology of rock art. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
- Coulson D and Cambell A (2001) African rock art. Paintings and engravings on stone. New York, Harry N Abrams.
- Van Albada A.&A.-M. (2000): La Montagne des Hommes-Chiens. Art rupestre du Messak lybien. Paris, Seuil.
- Clottes J. (2002): World Rock Art. Los Angeles, The Getty Publications.
- Lhote, H (1959) The search for the Tassili frescoes: the rock paintings of the Sahara. London.
- Le Quellec J -L (1998) Art rupestre et prehistoire du Sahara. Le Messak libyen. Paris, Editions Payot et Rivages, Biblioteque Scientifique Payot.
- Mattingly D (ed) (forthcoming) The archaeology of the Fezzan.
- Muzzolini A (1997) Saharan rock art. In Vogel J O (ed) Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa. Walnut Creek: 347-353.
- Whitley D S (ed) (2001) Handbook of rock art research. New York, Altamira Press.
- Saharan Rock Art, Archaeology of Tassilian Pastoralist Icongraphy, by Augustin F.C. Holl (2004)
- Tassili n'Ajjer: Art rupestre du Sahara préhistorique, by Jean-Dominique Lajoux (1977)
- The Search for the Tassili Frescoes: The story of the prehistoric rock-paintings of the Sahara, by Henri Lhote (1959, 1973)
External links
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre
- The natural arches of the Tassili n'Ajjer
- Tassili n'Ajjer - fjexpeditions.com
Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad | Djémila | Kasbah of Algiers | M'Zab Valley | Tassili n'Ajjer | Timgad | Tipasa
Categories
IUCN Category II | World Heritage Sites in Algeria | Archaeological sites in Algeria | Rock art | Mountain ranges of Africa | Mountains of Algeria | National parks of Algeria | Natural arches | Tuareg