The Hoggar Mountains are an area of land that is higher than the surrounding area in the central Sahara in southern Algeria, near the Tropic of Cancer. They cover about 550,000 square kilometers.
The Hoggar Mountains include the Ahaggar Cultural Park, which was known as the Ahaggar National Park from 1987 to 2011. The highest mountain in the range and in Algeria, Mount Tahat, is located within the park. The park covers about 450,000 square kilometers.
Geography
This mountainous region is located about 1,500 km (930 mi) south of the capital, Algiers. The area is mostly rocky desert with an average height of more than 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level. The highest peak, Mount Tahat, reaches 2,908 m (9,541 ft). The mountains are mainly made of metamorphic rock that is about 2 billion years old. However, some areas have newer rock formed from recent volcanic activity. Some of the most dramatic peaks, like Ilamen, were created when erosion removed softer materials from extinct volcano domes, leaving behind harder rock that filled the volcanic cones.
Assekrem is a well-known location where Charles de Foucauld built a hermitage in 1911.
The highlands are thought to be one of the main sources of the Tamanrasset River, an ancient river that flowed during the African humid period. The river is named after the city of Tamanrasset, located near the Hoggar Mountains. This city is built in a desert valley, or wadi, that was part of the ancient watercourse.
Environment
The Hoggar Mountains typically have hot summers and cold winters. Winter temperatures often drop below freezing. Rainfall is uncommon and occurs only occasionally throughout the year. However, the climate is milder compared to other parts of the Sahara, making the mountains an important area for many plant and animal species, including some that are rare or remain from earlier times. The Hoggar Mountains are part of the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion.
Plants in this area include trees such as Vachellia tortilis, Vachellia seyal, myrtle, and Tamarix aphylla, which grow in scattered locations. Other plants found here may include Citrullus colocynthis and Calotropis procera.
To the west of the Hoggar range, a group of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) survived into the 20th century but are now believed to no longer live in this region. West African crocodiles also lived in the Hoggar Mountains until the early 20th century.
In 2006, analysis of animal droppings showed that Northwest African cheetahs once lived in the area. Between August 2008 and November 2010, four cheetahs were spotted using camera traps. In 2020, Algerian naturalists filmed and photographed a single cheetah in the Atakor volcanic field national park. The park is also home to herbivores such as the Saharan subspecies of the Barbary sheep and the Dorcas gazelle.
The park has been named an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports large numbers of birds, including spotted, crowned, and Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse, Pharaoh eagle-owls, pallid harriers, greater hoopoe-larks, bar-tailed and desert larks, pale rock martins, fulvous babblers, white-crowned and mourning wheatears, desert sparrows, and trumpeter finches.
History
Evidence of early human settlements can be found in rock paintings that still exist today and date back to 6000 BC. The Hoggar Massif is home to the Kel Ahaggar Tuareg people. The tomb of Tin Hinan, a woman believed to be the leader of the Tuareg, is located at Abalessa, an oasis near Tamanrasset.
The hermitage of Charles de Foucauld is situated at the top of the Assekrem plateau in the Hoggar Mountains. A small group of Catholic monks continues to live there.
France performed underground atomic tests in the mountains during the 1960s.