N'guigmi is a city and Commune of fifteen thousand in the easternmost part of

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 ...

, very near to

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

– lying on its shore until the lake retreated. It is a crossroads for the traditional camel caravans of the Toureg and for traders plying North and South across the Sahara.

Overview

N'guigmi is a military centre for the region, a centre for the salt trade from

Kaourar The Kaouar (or Kawar) is a series of ten oases in the southern Sahara in northeast Niger, covering about from north to south, and east to west. They are on the eastern edge of the Ténéré desert, between the Tibesti Mountains in the east an ...

and is the last stop on the road to

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

. It is "the end of the road" and marks the end of the paved section of the Nigerien ''Route Nationale 1'', although the sections past Diffa are notorious for their poor condition. Two unpaved highways or caravan routes connect to N'guigmi from the north, providing the main road route between Chad and Niger, and one of two land routes to the

Oasis town of

Bilma 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 ...

. The town lies at the mouth of the Dilia Bosso, an ancient river valley and seasonal wash that runs from the

Termit Massif The Termit Massif (Termit Mountains or simply the Termit) is a mountainous region in south-eastern Niger. Just to the south of the dunes of Ténéré desert and the Erg of Bilma, the northern areas of the Termit, called the Gossololom, consist ...

over 200 km to the northwest to what was the shore of

as recently as the mid 20th century. The town was then a centre of Kanuri fishing communities. By the 2000s, even during the rainy season, the nearest access to water was at the village of Doro (a

Beri-beri Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...

name for "''Fishing port''") 45 km southwest of N'guigmi. During the

Sahel drought The Sahel region of Africa has long experienced a series of historic droughts, dating back to at least the 17th century. The Sahel region is a climate zone sandwiched between the Sudanian Savanna to the south and the Sahara desert to the north, ...

of the mid-1970s the shore was 85 km away from N'guigmi in Chad.Geels (2006) pp.236–237 The town is the seat of the

Department of N'guigmi N'guigmi is a Departments of Niger, department of the Diffa Region in Niger. Its capital lies at the city of N'guigmi. As of 2011, the department had a total population of 77,748 people. References

Departments of Niger Diffa Region { ...

, one of three in

Diffa Region Diffa is one of the seven regions of Niger, and is located in the southeast of the country. The capital of the region is Diffa. Geography Diffa Region is situated in the extreme southeast of Niger between 10° 30’ and 15° 35’ longitude E ...

, which includes the entire north of the Region. N'guigmi is home to a large settlement of

Kanuri people The Kanuri people (Kanouri, Kanowri, also Yerwa, Barebari and several subgroup names) are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former Kanem and Bornu Empires in Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon, as well as a diaspora c ...

, as well as settled members of the traditionally pastoral

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 ...

Fulani 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 Daza/

Toubou The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "rock people") are an ethnic group native to the Tibesti Mountains that inhabit the central Sahara in northern Chad, southern Libya, northeastern Niger, and northwestern Sudan. They live either as her ...

ethnic groups.

Climate

References

* * Communes of Niger Lake Chad {{Niger-geo-stub