El Goléa

El Goléa (Arabic: القلعة‎) is an oasis town and commune, and capital of El Ménia District, in Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The official name is El Ménia (Arabic: المنيعة‎); together in Arabic, the two names mean Impregnable Castle. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 40,195, up from 28,848 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.4%. The area is inhabited by the Zenete Berbers. El Goléa oasis grows many agricultural products. The grave of the French priest Charles de Foucauld is located in the town.

Geography

El Goléa is located almost at the center of Algeria, lying at the eastern border of the Grand Erg Occidental at an elevation of 380 metres (1,250 ft). The town is a gateway to the Sahara in the south, and has an estimated 180,000 palm trees within the oasis area. The oasis itself lies beneath an escarpment rising up to 200 metres (660 ft) above. Some of the largest continuous areas of Saharan sand dunes begin just a few kilometres to the west of the oasis.

Climate