Geography and Brief History of Algeria

Week One:

The nation of Algeria is located in the northwest 
corner of Africa. Algeria has a total area 
of 2,381,741 square kilometers which ninety 
percent of is made up of deserts. To put this in perspective, Algeria is four times the size of Texas. The country of Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The primary language of Algeria is Arabic and the country has a population of 39,500,000 as of 2015. 





The capital city of Algeria, Algiers, is located at 36°42′N 3°13′E and is the largest city in the country. Algiers is located on the west side of one of the bays of the Mediterranean seas. The city has two separate components, one which is ancient and is located on a large hill behind the modern city, and the modern city which was built close to sea level which is made up of many different large white buildings. The name of the city translates from Arabic to be "the islands" in english. This name is derived from the four islands which lay off the coast of the city. 

The history of Algeria is very interesting in regard to the history of mankind. Due to excavations which have been conducted in Algeria, modern scientists have been lead to believe that Homo Erectus had lived there about 500,000 years ago. Algeria was also once part of the Roman colonies during the Punic Wars. The country was attacked and pillaged by barbarians around 440 AD but was restored when it was invaded by Arabs in 660. Algerian independence movements began in the 1950's but it was not until July 5, 1962, Algeria was proclaimed independent. In 1963, Ahmed Ben Bella was elected president, and the country became Socialist.