Timokten () (also spelled Timoktene, Timekten, or Tamekten) is a town and commune in Aoulef District,

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 ...

, in south-central

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 ...

. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 18,598, up from 14,134 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.8%.

Geography

The town of Timokten lies at an elevation of on the western side of an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentZaouiet Moulay Heïba, lie around the northern and eastern sides of this oasis. is a part of the Tidikelt region of the central Sahara that extends from central eastern Adrar Province (where Aoulef is located) to northeast

Tamanrasset Province Tamanrasset or Tamanghasset ( ''Wilāya Tamanrāssat'', ) is a province (''wilaya'') in southern Algeria. It is named after its province seat, Tamanrasset. The province is the home of two national parks: Ahaggar National Park and Tassili n'Ajj ...

around

In Salah Ain Salah, officially Aïn Salah (), is an oasis town in central Algeria and the capital of In Salah Province and In Salah District. It was once an important trade link in the trans-Saharan caravan route. As of the 2008 census, it had a popula ...

. The oases in this region are sparser than in the

Tuat Tuat, or Touat (), is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oasis, oases. In the past, the oases were important for Camel caravan, caravans crossing the Sahara. Geography Tuat lies to the south of the Gr ...

and

Gourara Tuat, or Touat (), is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oasis, oases. In the past, the oases were important for Camel caravan, caravans crossing the Sahara. Geography Tuat lies to the south of the Gr ...

regions in which most of the population of Adrar Province live, but there are still a number of towns such as

Aoulef Aoulef () is a town and commune and capital of Aoulef District, in Adrar Province, south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 21,723, up from 15,229 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.7%. Geography The t ...

Akabli Akabli () is a town and commune in Aoulef District, Adrar Province, in south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 10,171, up from 7,513 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.1%. Geography The town of Akabli i ...

, Tit and

In Ghar In Ghar (Arabic: عين غار, lit. ''Cave spring'') is a town and commune, coextensive with the district of In Ghar, in In Salah Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 11,225, up from 8,059 in 1998, with an ann ...

. The nearby land is mostly flat aside from some small hills to the east; however further north the land rises to the

Tademaït Tademaït is a natural region in the Sahara Desert right in the centre of Algeria. It is located north of In Salah and south of the Grand Erg Occidental in the Adrar District of Adrar Province, El Ménia District of Ghardaïa Province and the n ...

plateau.

Climate

Timokten has a hot

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh''), with extremely hot summers and mild winters, and very little

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

throughout the year.

Transportation

A provincial road connects Timokten to the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

capital of

, which lies to the southeast on the N52 national highway, connecting it to

Reggane Reggane (from Berber "Argan"; ) is a town and commune, and the capital of Reggane District, in Adrar Province, central Algeria. Reggane lies in the Sahara Desert near an oasis. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 20,402, up from 14 ...

and eventually Adrar to the west and

to the east. The same provincial road also leads northwest to Adrar, to the northwest.

Education

7.8% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 17.1% has completed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 79.4%, and is 90.7% among males and 67.2% among females.

Localities

As of 1984, the commune was composed of 11 localities: *Iner * Zaouiet Moulay Heïba *Kasbet Sied *Kasbet Djena *Bled El Mehdi El Mansour *Ouled Moulay Rachid *Ezzouïa *El Merguieb *Gaougaou *Aoulef El Kébir *Akhannous *Ouled El Hadj *Bled Lahssiène *Aïn Belbal *Matriouan Timokten

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Adrar Province Communes of Adrar Province Cities in Algeria