Abalak (or Abalagh) (in tamajeq ⴰⴱⴰⵍⴰⵗ) is a town located in the

Tahoua Region Tahoua is one of seven regions of Niger. The capital of the region is the commune of Tahoua. The region covers 106,677 km². Geography Tahoua borders Agadez Region to the northeast, Maradi Region to the southeast, Nigeria's Sokoto State t ...

, Abalak Department of northern

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. It is both a town and Commune: a local administrative division. It is the seat (''Chef-lieu'') of Abalak Department, one of eight subdivisions of

. The town had a population of less than 74,719 at the 2012 census.

Geography

Abalak lies near the northern extremity of the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

, bordering the

Sahara desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. It also lies along the southern edge of the dry plains and fossilized river valleys which make up the

Azawagh The Azawagh (alias ''Azaouagh'' or ''Azawak'') is a dry basin covering what is today the northwestern Niger, as well as parts of northeastern Mali and southern Algeria. The Azawagh is mainly made up of Sahelian and Saharan flatlands and has ...

. The town itself lies in a seasonal wash — a Kori (

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

) or

Wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

(Arabic) — which retains underground water even during the long dry season.

Transport and economy

Abalak lies along a highway, connected to the main

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

–

Tahoua Tahoua is a city in Niger and the administrative centre of the Department of Tahoua and the larger Tahoua Region. ...

–

Agadez Agadez ( Air Tamajeq: ⴰⴶⴰⴷⴰⵣ, ''Agadaz''), formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger, with a population of 110,497 based on the 2012 census. The capital of the eponymous Agadez Region, the city lies in the Sahara ...

–

Arlit Arlit is an industrial town and capital of the Arlit Department of the Agadez Region of northern-central Niger, built between the Sahara Desert and the eastern edge of the Aïr Mountains. It is 200 kilometers south by road from the bord ...

paved highway just to the northeast of the town. To the south, the local road connects the town of

Keita, Niger Keita is a town and commune in Niger. It is the capital of the Keita Department, within the Tahoua Region, and has an urban population of 10,631 as of 2012. Geography Keita is located north-east of the national capital, Niamey. The town is in ...

to the main road network. Abalak is a regional market town, especially for animals raised by pastoral and seasonally nomadic communities in the area. The town is a center for the "Bororo"

Wodaabe The Wodaabe (, , ''𞤏𞤮𞤯𞤢𞥄𞤩𞤫'') is a name that is used to designate a subgroup of the Fula ethnic group who are traditionally nomadic and found primarily in Niger and Chad. All Wodaabe people should not be mistaken as Mbororo ...

–

Fula people The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

, and also hosts nomadic

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

. The town is unusual in this dry region for its fishing industry, dependent upon an artificial lake created by damming the ancient seasonal river valley near the town.Decalo (1997) p. 15

References

Abalak, Niger Page
Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. 1996–2004. Accessed 2009-03-27. *Peter Chilson. The road from Abalak: heat, wind, dust, fear. in The best American travel writing, 2003. Ian Frazier (ed), introduction. Jason Wilson, series editor. New York : Houghton Mifflin Co., (2003). *Louise Dallaire. Les touristes ne vont pas à Abalak. L'ABC de l'édition; 2nd edition (2007) Abalak

External links

{{Authority control Communes of Niger Tuareg