UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | Algeria |
Includes | Tassili National Park, La Vallée d'Iherir Ramsar Wetland |
Criteria | Cultural and Natural: (i), (iii), (vii), (viii) |
Reference | 179 |
Inscription | 1982 (6th Session) |
Area | 7,200,000 ha (28,000 sq mi) |
Coordinates | 25°30′N 9°0′E / 25.500°N 9.000°E |
Location | Djanet Province,Illizi Province Algeria |
Established | 1972 |
Official name | La Vallée d'Iherir |
Designated | 2 February 2001 |
Reference no. | 1057[1] |
Tassili n'Ajjer (Berber: Tassili n Ajjer, Arabic: طاسيلي ناجر, romanized: ṭāssīlī naʾjir; "Plateau of rivers") is a mountain range in the Sahara desert, located in south-eastern Algeria. It holds one of the most important groupings of prehistoric cave art in the world,[2][3] and covers an area of more than 72,000 km2 (28,000 sq mi),[4]
The site has been designated a national park and a Biosphere Reserve, and was inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1982.[5]
The literal English translation of Tassili n'Ajjer is 'plateau of rivers'.[6]
Les eaux de pluie ont raviné les crêtes et ont progressivement entaillé les plateaux, creusant des canyons étroits et profonds aux parois à pic, dont la direction générale est Sud-Nord. C'est d'ailleurs ce qui lui a valu le nom de Tassili-n-Ajjer, nom qui vient des mots touaregs : Tasilé = plateau et gir = rivières, ce qui veut dire : le plateau des rivières. == rainwater gutted the ridges and progressively slashed the plateaus, digging narrow, deep canyons with steep walls, whose general direction is South-North. This is what earned it the name of Tassili-n-Ajjer, name that comes from the Tuareg words: Tasilé = plateau and gir= rivers, which means: the plateau of rivers.