 |
|
 |
| Algeria (2.381.741 km2 ) borders Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, and Western Sahara. The Mediterranean coastline is 1,104-km long. The bitter Algerian War (1954-62) that ended French colonial rule has significantly influenced Algeria's national identity. South of the Saharan Atlas is the immense Sahara, with its gravel expanses, occasional plateaus, sand dunes (ergs), and the fantastic, lunarlike Ahaggar Mountains, where Mount Tahat, the nation's highest peak, rises to 3,003 m (9,852 ft). Algerians are primarily of Arab and Berber descent. Arabic, the national language, is spoken by about 82% of the population, but Berbers have historically resisted "Arabization" and are now the main victims of the islamic fundamentalist terrorists. |
