The Saoura () is a valley in southwestern

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. It is formed by the

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 ...

known as

Oued Saoura Oued Saoura is an intermittent river, or wadi, formed from the confluence of the Oued Guir and Oued Zouzfana at Igli, forming the Saoura valley. While in the past the flow of the river was steady and plentiful, in recent years it has diminished ...

, formed from the confluence of the Oued Guir and Oued Zouzfana at Igli.] From Igli it runs through

Béchar Province Béchar () is a Provinces of Algeria, province ''(Wilayah, wilaya)'' in Algeria, located on the border with Morocco in the Algerian Desert, Algerian Sahara. It is the second least-densely populated province in Algeria, with a population of 353591 ...

past the towns of Béni Abbès, Tamtert, El Ouata,

Béni Ikhlef Béni Ikhlef () is a town and commune in Kerzaz District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. As of the 2008 census, its population was 2,459, up from 2,280 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.8%. The commune covers an area of . Geograp ...

Kerzaz Kerzaz () is a town and commune, and capital of Kerzaz District, in Béchar Province, western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 5,028, up from 4,276 in 1998, and its annual growth rate is 1.7%. The commune covers an area ...

Timoudi Timoudi (Arabic: ﺗﻴﻤﻮدى) is a town and commune in Kerzaz District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 2,389, up from 2,116 in 1998, with an annual population growth rate of 1.2%. The ar ...

Ouled Khoudir Ouled Khoudir () is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Ouled Khoudir District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 4,251, up from 3,893 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.9%. The comm ...

, and

Ksabi Ksabi () is a town and commune in Ouled Khodeïr District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 3,187, up from 2,656 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 1.9%. The commune covers an area of . Ge ...

then passes under the N6 highway before reaching the

endorheic An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

lake

Sebkhel el Melah Sebkha el Melah, also known as Sebkhel el Melah or Sebkhet el Melah, is an endorheic salt lake in El Menia Province, central Algeria. Geography Sebkha el Melah is a salt lake that has formed in a basin in El Menia Province in central Algeri ...

. From 1962 to 1974 it was the name of a

wilaya A wilayah ( or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu, Pashto and ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "''w-l-y''", "to govern": a ''wāli''—"g ...

(province) covering present-day

Tindouf Province Tindouf, also written Tinduf (), is the westernmost province of Algeria, having a population of 58,193 as of the 2008 census (not including the Sahrawi refugees at the Sahrawi refugee camps). Its population in reality could be as high as 160,00 ...

and

Adrar Province Adrar (, ) is a province ('' wilaya'') in southwestern Algeria, named after its capital Adrar. It is the second-largest province, with an area of 254 000 km2, roughly the size of the US state of Wyoming. It had 401.297 inhabitants at the ...

References

Valleys of Algeria Geography of Béchar Province {{Béchar-geo-stub