El Ouata
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El Ouata اﻟﻮ ﻃﺎء |
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|---|---|
| Commune and town | |
 Location of El Ouata commune within Béchar Province |
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 El Ouata
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| Coordinates: 29°52′N 1°50′W / 29.867°N 1.833°WCoordinates: 29°52′N 1°50′W / 29.867°N 1.833°W | |
| Country |
 Algeria
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| Province | Béchar Province |
| District | El Ouata District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7,950 km2 (3,070 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 431 m (1,414 ft) |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 7,343 |
| • Density | 0.92/km2 (2.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
El Ouata (Arabic: اﻟﻮ ﻃﺎء) is a town and commune in Béchar Province, western Algeria. The commune is coextensive with El Ouata District, which is named after the town. According to the 2008 census its population is 7,343, up from 7,014 in 1998, with an annual population growth rate of 0.5%. The commune covers an area of 2,870 square kilometres (1,110 sq mi).
El Ouata lies on the left (northeast) bank of the Oued Saoura in the Saoura valley. The Grand Erg Occidental, a large area of continuous sand dunes lies to the east, while the rocky ridges of the Ougarta Range rise to the west, running from northwest to southeast along the opposite side of the river from the town.
El Ouata has a hot desert climate, with extremely hot summers and warm winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year.
Agriculture is the main industry in El Ouata. The commune has a total of 1,680 hectares (4,200 acres) of arable land, of which 1,264 hectares (3,120 acres) is irrigated. There are a total of 136,180 date palms planted in the commune. As of 2009 there were 1,009 sheep, 1,140 goats, 1,011 camels, and 8 cattle.
Tourism in El Ouata is mainly focused around the sand dunes, palm groves, the old ksar, and the nearby Ougarta Range.
85% of El Ouata's population are connected to drinking water (the second lowest rate in the province), but 100% are connected to the sewerage system, and 81% (including 2,527 buildings) have access to electricity (the equal lowest in the province). There is one fuel service station in the town.
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Wikipedia