| Tadrart Rouge | |
|---|---|
| تادرارت الحمراء | |
 View of the Tadrart Rouge near Djanet | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,398 m (4,587 ft) |
| Coordinates | 23°40′17″N10°53′26″E / 23.67139°N 10.89056°E /23.67139; 10.89056[1] |
| Geography | |
  Tadrart Rouge SEAlgeria | |
| Parent range | Tassili n'Ajjer |
TheTadrart Rouge (meaning "Red Mountain") orSouthern Tadrart orAlgerian Tadrart orMeridional Tadrart is a mountain range in southeasternAlgeria, part of theAlgerian Desert. The area has a rich array ofrock art.
TheTadrart Rouge is a roughly 15–30 km large and 150 km long southern prolongation of the LibyanTadrart Acacus into Algeria spanning to the frontier ofNiger.[2] Primarily composed ofsandstone, it links theTassili n’Ajjer in the north-west to theDjado in the southeast. The range is broken by a series of west-east oriented fossil drainage networks resulting in deep gorges.In Djaren, discharging into theerg ofTin Merzuga, is the most important one.[3] The range reaches its maximum elevation of 1,340 m (4,400 ft) towards its southern end about 160 km southeast ofDjanet.
Erosion has formed a large number ofnatural arches.[4] The area is well known for the spectacular red-orange sand dune fields contrasting with the jagged dark red rock formations of the range.[5][6]
TheTadrart Rouge is today harsh and dry with almost no precipitation. But during theAfrican humid period the area had rainfall and was covered bysavanna vegetation and thus was suitable for human and animal life.[7]
TheTadrart Rouge has magnificent Saharan rock art covering a long chronological span from early Neolithic to recent times. Rock walls and rock shelters on wadi bottoms are dotted with both rock paintings and rock engravings, documenting climate change as the area evolved from a savanna 10,000 years ago to a desert 5,000 years ago. The rock art changed in time from wild fauna such as elephants, rhinos, giraffes, antelopes, and wild bovids, to domesticated animals such as bovids, ovicaprids, horses, and camels.
Media related toTadrart Rouge at Wikimedia Commons| Tell Atlas | |
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| Saharan Atlas | |
| Saharan massifs | |
| Peaks | |
