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28-503: In-Gall (var. In Gall , I-n-Gall , In-Gal , Ingal , Ingall ) is a department, commune and town in the Agadez Region of northeast Niger , with a year-round population of less than 500. Known for its oasis and salt flats , In-Gall is the gathering point for the Cure Salee festival of Tuareg and Wodaabe pastoralists to celebrate the end of the rainy season each September. During

56-555: A recent influx of Hausa and Zarma . The Tuareg word azawaɣ means "savannah". Azawad , a term used for the portion of northern Mali claimed by the Tuareg rebel movement National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad , is believed to be an Arabic corruption of "Azawagh". The Azawagh refers to the dry structural basin , which once carried a northern tributary of the Niger River ,

84-575: A year-round basis. Prior to its decline in the 20th century — because of the smaller scale of the In-Gall salt markets as well as its easy access by road — In-Gall was once a destination of the Azalai salt caravans, in which Tuareg merchants transported salt from the markets here across the Sahel for agricultural and medicinal uses. In 2004, a Canadian corporation was granted a government license to mine for uranium in

112-576: Is subdivided into six departments Agadez has a large area but is sparsely populated. Its 487,620 inhabitants (as per the 2012 census) account for only 2.8% of the total population of Niger, with a population density of 0.73 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.9/sq mi). Much of its population comprises nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples, including Arabs , Fulani , Kanuri , Dazaga Toubou and various Tuareg groups. The Tagdal language and Tasawaq language , thought to be mixed Songhai -Tuareg languages, are also spoken. Traversed for centuries by

140-585: The Ouranosaurus nigeriensis . Cave painting and the remains of ancient human settlements are also located here. Tuareg peoples began migrating to the region from the mid-8th century. From the mid-15th century to the early 20th, much of the region was under the control of the Sultanate of Agadez , except for a period when the area came under the rule of the Songhai Empire in the 1500s. The region suffered with

168-661: The Sudanese peoples of the region were replaced by Berbers who constructed tumuli . Islam reached the Western Aïr Mountains via southwest Libya in the eighth century. The region was invaded and colonized by the French in the early twentieth century. Following the independence movements of Algeria , Mali , and the Niger , and the corresponding departure of the French, the region became divided between these three nations. During

196-520: The Trans-Saharan trade routes, the oasis towns of the Aïr and the eastern Kaouar Cliffs are known for their gardens, salt manufacture, and date cultivation. Arlit is the centre of Niger's uranium industry, a prominent economic sector in the region with uranium pits and mines operated by foreign companies providing substantial revenue for the country. The French discovered Niger's first uranium deposits in

224-580: The 1970s and 1980s, a series of droughts forced increasing numbers of the region's nomadic population into villages and towns. The droughts also sparked a rebellion by the region's Tuareg population, with groups such as Front for the Liberation of Aïr and Azaouak and the Front for the Liberation of Tamoust rebelling against the Nigerien government, while the Arab Islamic Front of Azawad , Popular Movement for

252-697: The Azawagh river, known as Dallol Bosso further south. The river, which ran some 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) in prehistoric times, dried up after the Neolithic Subpluvial and created a basin of some 420,000 square kilometres (160,000 sq mi). Its valley, which geologists call the Iullemmeden Basin , is bordered by the Hoggar Mountains and their foothills in the north, the Aïr Mountains in

280-540: The French anthropologist and archaeologist couple, Suzanne and Edmond Bernus. In-Gall is not only a prominent Tuareg seasonal centre, to which certain clans return each year, but it has a history as a stop in the Trans-Saharan trade , was an eastern outpost of the Songhay Empire in the 16th century, was an important centre of the Aïr Sultanate thereafter, and became a French colonial fort in an often hostile region in

308-580: The In-Gall region many of the earliest mosques in Niger, dating back to early Berber occupations before 1000CE. In-Gall is intimately linked with the nearby salt industry at Tegguiada In Tessoum , around 15 km to the north. Teguidda, on the site of an ancient lake bed, floods as water washes down from the Aïr Massif to the east each year, producing natural salt ponds. The population of In-Gall maintain and harvest from evaporation ponds here, sending labourers from

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336-661: The Liberation of Azawad , Revolutionary Liberation Army of Azawad , and the Popular Liberation Front of Azawad opposed the government of Mali. Despite being the size of Austria, the Nigerian portion of the Azawagh had a population of only 85,000 as of 2003. The area is dominated by the Kel Tamashek peoples, as well as some nomadic Arab-ancestry tribes including Hassaniyya -speakers (also called Azawagh Arabs , not to be confused with Niger's Diffa Arabs ). The Azawagh

364-514: The Tim Mersoi Basin of the Agadez Region in 1958 and since then French companies such as Areva have maintained a large footprint in the region, employing a large quantity of locals. Depressed uranium prices since the 1980s have hit the region hard, though uranium remains one of the main foreign exchange earners for the country and a main export. The region is less poor than other regions of

392-563: The advent of French colonialism as power shifted away to the southwest; Tuareg disaffection with French rule resulted in the Kaocen revolt in 1916–17. This process continued following Niger's independence in 1960; local Tuareg saw little recompense from the uranium mining boom in Arlit in the 1970s, and Agadez Region was struck by repeated droughts and famines. Since then there have been two Tuareg rebellions: from 1990–95 and 2007–09 . In recent years

420-738: The area. Northwestern Mineral Ventures was awarded the Irhazer and Ingall concessions, each 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) in size. Mines would reportedly be "open pit" strip mines. More than 100 uranium exploration licenses have been granted in the Azawagh area since 2004 to foreign firms from China (over 40%), Canada, and India. Since 2007, a Chinese mining consortium, whose license covers an area north of In-Gall, has carried out infrastructural work for new uranium mine at Azelik , some 85 km north of in Gall, which includes extending roads from In-Gall to

448-659: The country, representing 52% of the total area of Niger. The region is dominated by the Sahara desert , and includes the vast Ténéré portion of that desert, as well as dune seas such as the Erg of Bilma . The Aïr Mountains , the tallest peaks in Niger, are also located here. The Djado Plateau is located in the far north. Agadez is the regional capital; other major settlements include Aderbissinat , Arlit , Assamakka , Bilma , Dirkou , Iferouane , In-Gall , Madama , Séguedine , Tchirozerine , Tegguiada In Tessoum and Timia . Agadez

476-534: The country. It has the second-highest Human Development Index and the second-lowest incidence of extreme poverty according to World Bank data from 2018. Agadez had historically been one of the main centres of tourism in Niger, with visitors attracted by the desert scenery, archaeological sites and the Air Mountains. However Tuareg rebellions and activities of Islamist militants in Agadez region have severely reduced

504-470: The dry months. In-Gall is also famous to outsiders for its palaeontological digs, most notably the Jobaria tiguidensis , and the remains of petrified forests dating back 135 million years. 16°47′N 6°56′E  /  16.783°N 6.933°E  / 16.783; 6.933 Agadez Region The region is a centre for palaeontology , with numerous dinosaur skeletons being found here, including

532-475: The early 20th century. Archaeological evidence shows the area as a centre of prehistoric populations dating back some eight thousand year to when it sat in the midst of a now dry Azawagh river valley, fed by the Aïr Massif and flowing south to the Niger River . Of particular note have been thousands of pre-common era stone burial mounds which suggest a common culture in the area. Archeologists have also found in

560-504: The east). In the 1970s, the main road was repaved to transport uranium from the French-owned mines in Arlit , but the new road bypassed In-Gall, ending its use as a waystation . Since then, its population has dropped from almost 5,000 to less than 500. During the Tuareg insurgency of the 1990s, In-Gall was a prime fortification of the Niger armed forces, and when peace was concluded in 2000

588-534: The east, and the Adrar des Ifoghas in the west. The bedrock of the region is Cretaceous / Paleocene limestone and clay , which was cut by erosion and covered by aeolian sand in the Upper Pleistocene . In ecological terms, the Azawagh basin is divided into, from north to south, a Saharian, a Sahelian and a northern Sudanese (referring to the geographic region) zone. In Niger, Azawagh generally includes

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616-475: The festival, In-Gall's population grows to several thousand nomads, officials, and tourists. As of 2011, the commune had a total population of 47,170 people. In-Gall had been a stop on the main roads between the capital of Niger, Niamey (600 km to the southwest), and the mining town of Arlit (200 km to the northeast, 150 km from the Algerian border) or the provincial capital Agadez (100 km to

644-423: The local clans to work the salt and transport it back to In-Gall at the end of the season. In-Gall is near enough that, unlike the oasis town of Fachi where plots are owned by Agadez -based Tuareg clans and worked by a permanent population, the workers at Teguidda return to In-Gall for the remainder of the year. Teguidda also lacks a stable oasis, which provides In-Gall with market gardens and date palm farming on

672-471: The numbers of tourists, with most third party governments advising against travel to the region. Azawagh The Azawagh (alias Azaouagh or Azawak ) is a dry basin covering what is today the northwestern Niger , as well as parts of northeastern Mali and southern Algeria . The Azawagh is mainly made up of Sahelian and Saharan flatlands and has a population that is predominantly Tuareg , with some Arabic -speaking and Wodaabe minorities and

700-453: The old fort was reportedly abandoned. " InGall, an oasis town in a semi-desert zone that forms the gateway to the Sahara. InGall is a conglomeration of mud houses, whose gardens, in contrast to the barren landscape in which the town is set, are filled with fruit trees and vegetable patches. " The history, archaeology, and culture of the In-Gall area has been extensively studied, most notably by

728-466: The region has also been affected by an insurgency in the Maghreb by Islamist groups. The Agadez Region borders Algeria ( Tamanrasset Province and Illizi Province ) and Libya ( Murzuq District ) to the north, Chad ( Tibesti Region ) to the east, Diffa Region , Zinder Region , Tahoua Region and Maradi Region to the south, and Mali ( Kidal Region ) to the west. It is by far the largest region of

756-421: The site. Nigerien human rights, environmental and Tuareg groups have argued that mining activities in this region are a threat to scarce water resources, upon which pastoralists depend. The short rainy season in the Azawagh area north and west of In-Gall makes the region the northern destination for a cattle and camel herding transhumance cycle, which sees communities travel as far south as Burkina Faso during

784-545: The towns of Abalagh (Abalak), In Tibaraden ( Tchin-Tabaraden ), Tiliya, In Gal and Tabalaq , a village where the sole lake of the region is located. Human occupation of the Azawagh has been dated back to 4500 BCE, with evidence of cattle-raising beginning 3200 BCE. From this period until roughly 1500 BCE, the region also supported large fauna, including waterbuck , hippopotami , and elephants . Evidence of copper-working has been found at Tekebrine dating to 1600 BCE. At around this time, climatic conditions worsened, and

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