- Djurdjura National Park
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Djurdjura National Park IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location of Djurdjura National Park in AlgeriaLocation Kabylia, Algeria Nearest city Tizi Ouzou, Bouïra Coordinates 34°53′N 1°18′W / 34.883°N 1.3°WCoordinates: 34°53′N 1°18′W / 34.883°N 1.3°W Area 82.25 km² Established July 23, 1983 Visitors 500 000 The national park of Djurdjura (Arabic: الحديقة الوطنية جرجرة) is one of the national parks of Algeria. It is located in Kabylia, named after the Djurdjura mountain chain. Nearby cities include Tizi Ouzou (to the north) and Bouïra (to the south). The park is home to a very broken tectonics, as well as many forests, grottoes, gorges, and important fauna, including the endangered Barbary Macaque,[1] Macaca sylvanus, a primate whose prehistoric distribution in North Africa was much broader than today.[2]
Name
The name of the mountain chain comes from the Kabyle word Jjerjer which means means "great cold" or "elevation", from the old compound word Jer n Jer "the mountain of the mountains".[3] The Roman Empire used to call it Iron mountain in Latin (Montus Ferratus), in reference to the soil of the region, as well as to the resistance of the Kabyles against the Roman annexation of Kabylia. The name Djurdjura is also used for the villages located in this mountain chain. Mmis n'Djerdjer means "children of the Djurdjura", which is a Kabyle word referring to mountain inhabitants, there is also a Kabyle female group called DjurDjura.
References
- ^ IUCN. 2008. Redlist: Macaca sylvanus
- ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
- ^ Énigmes et joutes oratoires de Kabylie by Youcef Allioui, L'Harmattan, 2005 ISBN 2747580652
External links
National Parks of AlgeriaAhaggar · Belezma · Chrea · Djurdjura · El Kala · Gouraya · Tassili n'Ajjer · Taza · Theniet El Had · TlemcenCategories:- IUCN Category II
- National parks of Algeria
- Protected areas of Algeria
- Berber
- Protected areas established in 1983
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