Aïr Mountains

Aïr Mountains
Aïr Massif, Ayr
Satellite image, showing the Aïr Mountains in the central north part of Niger. Map with the location of the Aïr, within the Agadez Region, where there is a large Tuareg population.
Highest point
Elevation	2,022 m (6,634 ft)
Dimensions
Area	84,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi)
Naming
Native name	Ayar, Azbin, Abzin
Geography
Country	Niger
State/Province	Agadez Region
Range coordinates	18°17′N 8°00′E / 18.28°N 8°E / 18.28; 8Coordinates: 18°17′N 8°00′E / 18.28°N 8°E / 18.28; 8

The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif (Tuareg: Ayăr; Hausa: Eastern Azbin, Western Abzin) is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara Desert. Part of the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion, they rise to more than 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and extend over 84,000 km² (32,000 sq mi). Lying in the midst of desert north of the 17th parallel, the Aïr plateau, with an average altitude between 500 and 900 m (1,600 and 3,000 ft), forms an island of Sahel climate which supports a wide variety of life, many pastoral and farming communities, and dramatic geological and archaeological sites. There are notable archaeological excavations in the region that illustrate the prehistoric past of this region. The endangered painted hunting dog (Lycaon pictus) once existed in this region, but may now be extirpated due to human population pressures in this region.

The Precambrian to Cenozoic Aïr Mountains consist of peralkaline granite intrusions which appear dark in colour (unusual since most granitic masses are light-toned in the field). In the Sahara Desert such mountains often stand out in stark relief as topographic heights amidst lowlands covered by sand. The terrain consists of high plateau, mountain ranges, and broad, sandy valleys and seasonal wadis which once contained rivers. Areas of these deep, often intersecting, valleys also contain waterborne clay and silt deposits. Underground watercourses in some of these valleys continue to provide year-round oasis and seasonal vegetation.

The Aïr mountains themselves consist of nine almost circular massifs rising from a rocky plateau, bordered by the sand dunes and plain of the Ténéré Desert to the east. The massif is a plateau consisting of a sub-Cambrian age erosion surface on Precambrian metamorphic rocks, punctuated by a series of flat-topped, granite intrusion peaks, which include Mont Idoukal-n-Taghès (Niger's highest point at 2022 m),Mont Tamgak (1988 m), Mont Greboun (1944 m),Adrar Bous, Fadei, Chirriet, Taghmert, Agueraguer, Takaloukouzet, and Goundai.