Bir el Ater

Bir El Ater بئر العاتر
District
Bir El Ater
Coordinates: 34°44′55″N 8°03′29″E / 34.74861°N 8.05806°E / 34.74861; 8.05806
Country	Algeria
Province	Tébessa Province
Districts	Bir El Ater
Area
• Total	588 sq mi (1,522 km2)
Population (2008)
• Total	100,000
• Density	170/sq mi (66/km2)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
Post code	12001

Bir el Ater (Arabic: بئر العاتر‎) is a city of approximately 100,000 inhabitants located in extreme eastern Algeria towards the south, near the Tunisian borders and just beyond the Sahara, about 87 kilometers south of Tebessa.

Bir El Ater was the cradle of the Aterian civilization (the term Aterian derives from el-Ater) which was around 40000 - 20000 years BC.

It is now a mining city, located 15 km south of Bir El Ater. There are deposits of Djebel Onk Phosphates, the largest in Algeria which are extracted and shipped by train to Annaba a port, 300 km north on the Mediterranean or are used locally.

References

Tébessa Province Capital: Tébessa Districts Bir El Ater Bir Mokadem Cheria El Aouïnet El Kouif El Ma Labiodh El Ogla Morsott Negrine Ouenza Oum Ali Tébessa Communes Aïn Zerga Bedjene Bekkaria Bir el-Ater Bir El Mokadem Bir Dheb Boukhadra Boulhaf Dir Cheria El Aouinet El Kouif El Ma El Biodh El Meridj El Mezerra El Ogla el Malha El Ogla Ferkane Guorriguer Hammamet Lahouidjbet Morsott Negrine Ouenza Oum Ali Safsaf El Ouesra Stah Guentis Tébessa Tlidjene

Coordinates: 34°44′59″N 8°03′28″E / 34.74972°N 8.05778°E / 34.74972; 8.05778