Boumerdès

Boumerdès (Arabic: بومرداس; Kabyle: Bumerdes; Bumardas or Bomardas) is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 28,500 in 1998 and 15,000 in 1987.

Boumerdès is a seaside city located in the north of Algeria about 50 km east of Algiers. During French occupation of Algeria, the city was named Rocher Noir, translated from French as Black Rock.

It is the capital city of Wilaya (district) of Boumerdès. The city had a major earthquake on May 21, 2003 causing a lot of damage to the city with 1,382 people killed and 3,442 injured. The city became the capital of the province, having the same name, according to the administrative division in 1984.

The city is famous as a scientific center, including a number of national institutes and the University of M'hamed Bouguerra. The institutes include l'Institut Algérien du Pétrole (The Algerian Petroleum Institute IAP), Faculté des Hydrocarbures et de la Chimie (Faculty of Hydrocarbons and Chemistry FHC), l'Institut National d'Électricité et d'Électronique (The National Institute for Electricity and Electronics INELEC), l'Institut National de Génie mécanique (The National Institute of Mechanical Engineering ENGM), l'Institut National des Industries légères (The National Institute for Light Industries INIL).

Boumerdès Province

Boumerdès (Arabic: ولاية بومرداس‎, Berber: Bumerdas) is a province (wilaya) of northern Algeria, between Algiers and Tizi-Ouzou, with its capital at the coastal city of Boumerdès (formerly Rocher-Noir) just east of Algiers.

Administrative divisions

It is made up of 9 districts and 32 communes or municipalities.

Districts

Communes

Geography

The province is largely mountainous, with a long coastline and a number of rivers, notably the Isser and Sebaou. Its western edges have in effect become suburbs of Algiers as the capital has expanded.