Béni Abbès Province

The wilaya of Béni Abbès is in the Algerian Sahara; its area is 101,350 km².

It is delimited:

• to the north by the Béchar Province and Morocco;
• to the east by the Timimoun Province;
• to the west by the Tindouf Province;
• and to the south by the Tindouf Province and Adrar Province.

The greater part of the province is uninhabitable sand dune fields (ergs), in particular the Great Western Erg and the Erg Er Raoui, or dry plains (hamadas) suitable for grazing but with insufficient surface water to support agriculture. Most settlements are concentrated in oases along the Saoura valley and its tributaries. An aquifer under the Erg Er Raoui supports the main exception, Tabelbala.

Natural resources include copper in the south in Djebel Ben Tagine.^[2]

The oases' traditional economic basis was agriculture, notably growing date palms and grain. The inhabitants of Igli speak Berber, and those of Tabelbala a Songhay language, Korandje; elsewhere, Arabic is spoken. Many of the oases had significant populations of haratin or shurfa. A notable zaouia (traditional religious school) is found at Kerzaz. The region also supported a substantial mainly Arab pastoralist nomadic population, notably the Ghenanma, Chaamba, and Reguibat; some of these still remain nomadic, but most 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passing through this region played an important role in its economy in pre-modern times, but have at present been superseded.

The province is made up of 6 districts and 10 municipalities.^[3]

The districts are:

The municipalities are: