The Tuareg people are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Traditionally nomadic pastoralists, small groups of Tuareg are also found in northern Nigeria.
The Ténéré Tree was a solitary acacia, that was once considered the most isolated tree on Earth—the only one for over 150 kilometres (93 mi). It was a landmark on caravan routes through the Ténéré region of the Sahara Desert in northeast Niger, so well known that it and the Arbre Perdu to the north are the only trees to be shown on a map at a scale of 1:4,000,000. The Tree of Ténéré was located near a 40-metre (130 ft) deep well. It was knocked down in 1973 by a truck driver.
The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara. Part of the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion, they rise to more than 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and extend over 84,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi). Lying in the midst of desert north of the 17th parallel, the Aïr plateau, with an average altitude between 500 and 900 m, forms an island of Sahel climate which supports a wide variety of life, many pastoral and farming communities, and dramatic geological and archaeological sites. There are notable archaeological excavations in the region that illustrate the prehistoric past of this region. The endangered African wild dog once existed in this region, but may now be extirpated due to human population pressures in this region.
Agadez, formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger, with a population of 110,497 based on the 2012 census. The capital of Agadez Region, it lies in the Sahara desert, and is also the capital of Aïr, one of the traditional Tuareg–Berber federations. The historic centre of the town has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Ténéré is a desert region in the south central Sahara. It comprises a vast plain of sand stretching from northeastern Niger into western Chad, occupying an area of over 400,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi). The Ténéré's boundaries are said to be the Aïr Mountains in the west, the Hoggar Mountains in the north, the Djado Plateau in the northeast, the Tibesti Mountains in the east, and the basin of Lake Chad in the south. The central part of the desert, the Erg du Bilma, is centred at approximately 17°35′N10°55′E. It is the locus of the Neolithic Tenerian culture.
Taghaza is an abandoned salt-mining centre located in a salt pan in the desert region of northern Mali. It was an important source of rock salt for West Africa up to the end of the 16th century when it was abandoned and replaced by the salt-pan at Taoudenni which lies 150 km (93 mi) to the southeast. Salt from the Taghaza mines formed an important part of the long distance trans-Saharan trade. The salt pan is located 857 km (533 mi) south of Sijilmasa, 787 km (489 mi) north-northwest of Timbuktu and 731 km (454 mi) north-northeast of Oualata.
Taoudenni is a remote salt mining center in the desert region of northern Mali, 664 km (413 mi) north of Timbuktu. It is the capital of Taoudénit Region. The salt is dug by hand from the bed of an ancient salt lake, cut into slabs, and transported either by truck or by camel to Timbuktu. The camel caravans (azalai) from Taoudenni are some of the last that still operate in the Sahara Desert. In the late 1960s, during the regime of Moussa Traoré, a prison was built at the site and the inmates were forced to work in the mines. The prison was closed in 1988.
Bilma is an oasis town and commune in north east Niger with, as of the 2012 census, a total population of 4,016 people. It lies protected from the desert dunes under the Kaouar Cliffs and is the largest town along the Kaouar escarpment. It is known for its gardens, for salt and natron production through evaporation ponds, date cultivation, and as the destination of one of the last Saharan caravan routes.
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century. The Sahara once had a very different environment. In Libya and Algeria, from at least 7000 BC, there was pastoralism, the herding of sheep, goats, large settlements, and pottery. Cattle were introduced to the Central Sahara (Ahaggar) from 4000 to 3500 BC. Remarkable rock paintings in places that are currently very dry, portray flora and fauna that are not present in the modern desert environment.
Agadez Region is one of the seven regions of Niger. At 667,799 square kilometres (257,839 sq mi), it covers more than half of Niger's land area, and is the largest region in the country, as well as the largest African state subdivision. The capital of the department is Agadez.
The Iwellemmedan (Iwəlləmədǎn), also spelled Iullemmeden, Aulliminden, Ouilliminden, Lullemmeden, and Iwellemmeden, are one of the seven major Tuareg tribal or clan confederations. Their communities are historically nomadic and intermixed with other ethnic groups. The Iwellemmeden inhabit a wide area ranging from east and north central Mali, through the Azawagh valley, into northwestern Niger and south into northern Nigeria. While once a single confederation of dozens of Tuareg clans, subject peoples, and allied groups, since the 18th century they have been divided into Kel Ataram (west) and Kel Dinnik (east) confederations. Following colonial rule and independence, the Iwellemmedan homelands cross the Mali/Niger border, and their traditional seasonal migration routes have spread Iwellemmedan communities into Burkina Faso and Nigeria as well. They speak the Tawellemmet variant of the Tamasheq language, although some current or historical sub-clans speak other Tamasheq variants as well as Songhai languages and Arabic dialects.
Kel Ayr was a semi-nomadic Tuareg tribal confederation. It ruled an area centered on the Aïr Mountains in what is today Niger.
In-Gall is a town in the Agadez Region, Tchirozerine Department of northeast Niger, with a year-round population of less than 500. Known for its oasis and salt flats, In-Gall is the gathering point for the Cure Salee festival of Tuareg and Wodaabe pastoralists to celebrate the end of the rainy season each September. During the festival, In-Gall's population grows to several thousand nomads, officials, and tourists. As of 2011, the commune had a total population of 47,170 people.
The Erg of Bilma is a dune sea in the Ténéré desert region of the south central Sahara Desert. The Erg of Bilma stretches southwest from Fachi and the Tibesti Mountains. On the west it is bounded by the Aïr Mountains in north central Niger, and to the east it passes Bilma, continuing on to the Chadian border. It surrounds on three sides the oasis of Bilma, southernmost of a north–south string of oases of the Kaouar rise. The Erg covers an area of approximately 455,000 square kilometres (176,000 sq mi).
The Kaouar is a series of ten oases in the southern Sahara in northeast Niger, covering about 75 km (50 mi) from north to south, and 1–5 km (0.62–3.11 mi) east to west. They are on the eastern edge of the Ténéré desert, between the Tibesti Mountains in the east and the Aïr Mountains in the west and between the Fezzan in the north and Lake Chad in the south. They lie on the leeward side of a 100-meter-high north–south escarpment and easterly winds striking the escarpment provide easy access to groundwater for the oases.
Fachi is an oasis surrounded by the Ténéré desert and the dunes of the Erg of Bilma in eastern Niger, placed on the western edge of the small Agram mountain outcropping. It has an estimated population of 2,000 people. It is also a stopping point of the Agadez to the Kaouar caravans of the Azalay. Fachi is 240 kilometres west of Bilma and 320 km (200 mi) east of the Aïr Mountains. Apart from water, dates, and salt, Fachi produces no provisions, and depends entirely upon trade in these products with passing caravans.
The Kaocen revolt was a Tuareg rebellion against French colonial rule of the area around the Aïr Mountains of northern Niger during 1916–17.
The Kel Awey are a Tuareg clan confederation. From the 18th century until the advent of French colonial rule at the beginning of the 20th century, they were a dominant power in the Aïr Mountains of north central Niger.
Séguédine is a town in central eastern Niger, lying at the far northern tip of the Kaouar escarpment, an inhabited oasis in the midst of the Sahara Desert. It is a Commune of Bilma Department, Agadez Region.
Djado is a ghost town in Bilma in Niger. The settlement lies on the plateau with the same name. The settlement likely wasn't called Djado during its existence. The site is quite remote. No excavation has been done, so the real name of the settlement is unknown.
