Termit Massif

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Sand dunes and rocky islands in the Termit Massif

The Termit Massif is an up to 710 m high mountains southeast of the Aïr Mountains on the southern edge of the Sahara in Niger.

Location and characteristics of

The Termit massif is located in the municipality of Tesker in the northeast of the Zinder region. Geographically, there is the Termit massif in the western part of the Chad basin. Here the Sahel merges into the Sahara desert. In the north and north - east are the great sand deserts in the Ténéré and to the east behind the Tin - Toumma desert the Grand Erg du Bilma. In the south of the mountain range that connects over a length of 200 km linear in the Valley of the Dilia de Lagane. The southern part of the mountain is characterized by jagged, black sandstone formations. In the area to the north Gossololom protrude single rock volcanic islands out of the ocher sand desert. In the Termit massif there is rainfall of less than 100 millimeters per year. The dry season lasts from November to May and the rainy season, the West African monsoon lasts from June to September.

2006 beat Niger UNESCO receiving the Termit Massif in the World Heritage List ago.

Colonization

In the mountains are scattered settlements of the ethnic group of the Tubu. The Tubu live here by camel breeding and the caravan trade that leads them through the Great Sandy Desert of Bilma until after Dirkou.

In the Termit massif numerous archaeological finds have been made ​​that point to a history of settlement dating back to the Paleolithic. Among the finds are microliths, quartzite tools of the Acheulian and made ​​of volcanic rock Axtrücken. From post- Neolithic period are iron-melting furnace, tombs and rock paintings.

Fauna and Flora

The Termit Massif live Addax and Dama Gazelle, both of which are threatened with extinction. Added to Dorkasgazellen, Fenneks, cheetahs, Barbary sheep, jackals, birds and reptiles. As recently as the 1970s, the wildlife in the Termit massif was largely intact, now the stocks have fallen sharply. Particularly threatened are the animals by hunting parties from Dubai and Libya. For plants in the Termit massif include acacia trees, toothbrush trees, Rispenhirsen, grapes oats, Indigofera (Indigo) and the shrub Leptadenia pyrotechnica.