Algeria — Media Gallery

Trekking through the desert.

The oasis village of Taghit in the Sahara.

Another view of the oasis village of Beni Abbes.

The oasis village of Taghit in the Sahara is known for its surrounding massive dunes. The oasis waters may be seen in the foreground. The site is southwest of Algiers, about 200 km (120 mi) from Beni Abbes.

An ornate doorway in the Algiers Casbah.

The oasis village of Taghit in the Sahara.

Algiers rooftop view of the Mediterranean.

A beach west of Algiers.

The Issaouane Erg (sand sea) is located in eastern Algeria. Ergs are vast areas of moving sand with little to no vegetation cover. The most common landforms in the image are star dunes and barchan (or crescent) dunes. Star dunes are formed when sand is transported from variable wind directions, whereas barchan dunes form in a single dominant wind regime. Occasional precipitation fills basins formed by the dunes; as the water evaporates, salt deposits are left behind which appear as bluish-white areas. Image courtesy of NASA.

The modern city of Algiers lies near the Mediterranean coast, while the older city is on a steep hill crowned by the Casbah, or Citadel. This view is of a typical Casbah stairway.

A beach used by tourists west of Algiers.

Satellite dishes are ubiquitous in Algiers.

Mountains of sand loom over the oasis village of Taghit in the Sahara.

The oasis ksar (Berber village) of Beni Abbes. The site was first inhabited in the 12th century by a tribe from Mauritania. The town today has an old part made up of semi-attached houses, granaries, mosques, baths, ovens, and shops, and a new part with a research center composed of a museum, zoo, and botanical garden. The old part has been largely uninhabited for decades, but enough remains to give a good representation of traditional desert architecture.

Algiers on the Mediterranean coast.

Sahara dunes at sunset.

Sahara dunes at sunset.

Algiers rooftop view.

Sahara dunes at sunset.

Dunes encroaching on an oasis.

What look like pale yellow paint streaks slashing through a mosaic of mottled colors are ridges of wind-blown sand that make up Erg Iguidi, an area of ever-shifting sand dunes extending from Algeria into Mauritania. Erg Iguidi is one of several Saharan ergs, or sand seas, where individual dunes often surpass 500 m - nearly a third of a mile - in both width and height. The center and upper right of the enhanced satellite image is black sandstone rock. The light blue and white areas are chalky deposits and salt crusts left behind after water in the area evaporated. Image courtesy of USGS.

Area comparison map