Béchar

Béchar
/bay shahr"/; Fr. /bay shannrdd"/, n.
a city in W Algeria. 56,563. Formerly, Colomb-Béchar.

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formerly  Colomb-Béchar  
 town, western Algeria. It lies in the northern reaches of the Sahara, 36 miles (58 km) south of the Moroccan border. The town is named for nearby Mount Béchar, rising to 1,600 feet (488 metres). Béchar's former European quarter contains a military station and has modern buildings, while the traditional quarter has covered, narrow streets. Surrounded by date-palm groves watered by the Wadi Béchar, the town is noted for its leatherwork and jewelry. It is a trade centre at the junction of trans-Saharan roads, is the terminus of the railroad running southward from Oran, and has an airport. Béchar Djedid (New Béchar), 3 miles (5 km) south, was built to house the employees of the nearby coalfields at Kenadsa.

      The surrounding region presents a varied landscape. Near the Moroccan border the land is composed primarily of flat, stony sandstone plateaus (hammada). To the southeast the landscape is typified by ergs (sand dunes), specifically, parts of the Grand Erg Occidental, the Erg er-Raoui, and the Erg Iguidi. The region is bisected in the north by the Wadi Saoura, which forms the valley where the oasis town of Beni Abbes (Béni-Abbas) lies. Along the Saoura (known as Wadi Messaoud farther south), date-palm groves extend about 200 miles (320 km). To the west the region is crisscrossed by numerous wadis and ravines, forming a landscape known as chebka. Locally important crops include dates, cereals, vegetables, figs, and almonds. Bituminous-coal reserves in the region are exploited minimally because of high transportation costs. Pop. (2004 est.) 154,400.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Béchar — (anc. Colomb Béchar) ville d Algérie, au N. O. du Sahara; 108 380 hab; ch. l. de la wilaya du m. nom. Centre ferroviaire, au coeur d un bassin houiller …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Bechar — ‏بشار‎ Bechar …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Béchar — (en árabe: بشار Bishār) es el nombre de una ciudad de Argelia, capital de la provincia o wilaya del mismo nombre. La ciudad tenía en 1998 una población de 131.010 habitantes. La ciudad está poblada por el censo del 2005 de 251.657 habitantes.… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Bechar — Original name in latin Bchar Name in other language Basyar, Baszszar, Bechar, Besaras, Beshar, Beshare, Bearas, Bchar, Colomb Bechar, Colomb Bchar, Wilaya de Beshar, bei sha er, besharu, besyaleu, bshar, bshar, aljzayr, Бешар, Бешаре State code… …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

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