English :
The Ahaggar Mountains (Arabic: جبال هقار, Berber: idurar n Ahaggar), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, or southern Algeria, along 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.
The Ahaggar 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.
Painted Hunting Dogs
Slightly to the west of the Ahaggar range, a population of the endangered Painted Hunting Dog ( Lycaon pictus) remained viable into the 20th century, but is now thought to be extirpated within this entire region.
Some natives still report attacks by unidentified canines, possibly lycaon. Camera trapping should confirm whether or not this most elusive of African canines continues to exist in or near the mountain range. A group of field researchers including Koen de Smet and Farid Belbachir have collected information about reported lycaon sightings in Ahaggar and Tassili. Next round of camera trapping is planned for summer 2010, when genetic analysis of recovered carnivore scats will also be undertaken.
The IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group lists the Painted Hunting Dog as most likely extirpated in this area, but also reports that the precise distribution of all populations is unknown and states that further research, including field surveys, are required. This applies to a number of regions on the African continent, including environs of the Ahaggar Mountains of Algeria.
In scat collections there are records of the presence elusive and very threatened Saharan cheetahs, unidentified leopards, gennets, mongooses (species unresolved), wild cats, and some cryptic and unrecognized forms (include 14 samples of unmatched non-african canid DNA, extracted from fecal analysis). There wasn't scats found as golden jackals, sand cats, fennecs or Ruppell's foxes.
Prehistoric settlement is evident from extant rock paintings dating to 6000 BC.[6] 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
French :
Hoggar (du Berber tamachek, Ahaggar qui signifie « noble ») est le nom donné à un massif montagneux de l'ouest du Sahara, dans le sud de l'Algérie.
Traversé par le tropique du Cancer à 80 km au nord de Tamanrasset, il couvre une superficie d'environ 540 000 km2, soit le quart de la superficie totale de l'Algérie.
À lest de Tamanrasset (1 395 m d'altitude), il y a là une sorte de plate-forme érodée où les champs de lave tiennent une grande place, d'environ 250 km de grand diamètre, où l'altitude est partout supérieure à 2 000 m et sur laquelle les volcans démantelés font des saillies affleurant les 3 000 m. Cette plate-forme s'appelle l'Atakor du Hoggar. Autour d'elle, l'altitude reste élevée puis diminue en pentes douces imperceptibles à l'œil.
Son plus haut sommet, le mont Tahat au centre de l'Atakor, culmine à 2 918 mètres et domine l'Algérie. Un site célèbre est lAssekrem, à 80 km de Tamanrasset à vol doiseau et facilement accessible par piste.
Véritable désert de pierres, le Hoggar est essentiellement constitué de roches volcaniques. L'érosion a façonné un étonnant paysage tout en pitons acérés. Le climat y est très chaud en été, et il peut y geler les nuits dhiver. Les pluies sont limitées et sporadiques. Du fait dun climat moins extrême que le reste du Sahara, le Hoggar est un important refuge pour certaines espèces animales et végétales. Dun point de vue écologique, il peut être différencié du reste du Sahara.
Le massif du Hoggar est aussi le terrain ancestral du groupe Berbères Touareg appelé Kel Ahaggar. Près de la ville de Tamanrasset, dans loasis de Abalessa, il est possible de trouver le tombeau de Tin Hinan, une matriarche qui serait lancêtre des Touaregs du Hoggar.
Montage : Mehdieval
Photographer : Zoomion
http://vimeo.com/zoomion
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoomion/
بالنسبة لي، الجـــزائر هي جنة الله في الدنيـــــــا...الله يحفظها إن شـــــاء و يرحم الشهداء...تحيا الجزائر و الموت لأعدائها.
تحيات إبن البوليساريو
Hauza1 1 year ago 23
belle images merci
je vous invite a voir mes video sur l'algérie
Transperse 1 year ago 4