Timoudi (Arabic: ﺗﻴﻤﻮدى) is a town and commune in Kerzaz District,

Béchar Province Béchar ( ar, ولاية بشار) is the second least-densely populated province (''wilaya'') in Algeria, named after its capital Béchar. History The greater part of the province is dry plains ( hamadas) suitable for grazing but with insuff ...

, in western

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

. 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 area of the commune is .

Geography

Timoudi lies at in the

Saoura The Saoura () is a valley in southwestern Algeria. It is formed by the wadi known as Oued Saoura, formed from the confluence of the Oued Guir and Oued Zouzfana at Igli.] From Igli it runs through Béchar Province past the towns of Béni Abbès ...

valley on the banks of Oued Saoura, a wadi that marks the western edge of the

Grand Erg Occidental The Grand Erg Occidental ( ar, العرق الغربي الكبير, al-ʿIrq al-Gharbī al-Kabīr), (also known as the Western Sand Sea) is the second largest erg in northern Algeria after the Grand Erg Oriental. It covers an area of approximately ...

, a large area of sand dunes in the Sahara desert.

Climate

Timoudi 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 is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BWh''), with extremely hot summers and cool winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year.

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

is the main industry in Timoudi. The commune has a total of of

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

, of which is

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been dev ...

. There are a total of 54,000

date palms ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Ea ...

planted in the commune. As of 2009 there were 1,009

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

, 684

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of ...

s, 45

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...

s, and 10

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

Infrastructure and housing

95% of Timoudi's population is connected to drinking water, 95% is connected to the sewerage system, and 90% (including 729 buildings) have access to electricity. There are no fuel service stations in the town; the nearest is in

Kerzaz Kerzaz ( ar, كرزاز) 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 co ...

. Timoudi has a total of 628 houses, of which 204 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 11.7 inhabitants per occupied building, by far the highest in the province.

Transportation

Timoudi is located from the N6 highway, on a local road that leads northeast from the highway to the town. The town of Ouled Khoudir is southeast of Timoudi, while the town of

is to the northwest, and by road. Timoudi is from the provincial capital,

Béchar Béchar ( ar, بشار) is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth ...

. There is a total length of of roads in the commune.

Education

There are 3 elementary schools, with 21 classrooms including 15 in use. There are a total of 634 school students. 4.3% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 16.7% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 72.3%, and is 86.4% among males and 58.3% among females.

Health

Timoudi has 3 room care facilities, but otherwise few healthcare services are available. The nearest polyclinic is in Ouled Khoudir, and the nearest hospital is in

Béni Abbès Béni Abbès ( ar, بني عباس), also known as the ''Pearl of the Saoura'', and also as the ''White Oasis'', is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune located in western Algeria in Béchar Province, far from the provincial capital Béchar, ...

Religion

Timoudi has 5 operational

mosques A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

Localities

The commune is composed of four localities: *Timoudi * Boutarfaya *Ben-Abdelkader *Lemouih

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Béchar Province Communes of Béchar Province