Algeria, The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in north parts of Africa. Algeria also happens to be the second largest country on the entire African continent. Algeria is bordered by Tunisia to the north east, Libya to the east, Niger to the south east, Mali and Mauritania to the south west, and Morocco. Algeria is only a few kilometers away from its annexed territory, Western Sahara, which is located in the west. Constitutionally, Algeria is an Islamic,  country.

Unlike some countries which can’t seem to remember where theire name came from, the name Algeria was derived from the city name Algiers, and from the Arabic word al-jazae (the islands). The islands refer to the four islands that were just of the coast off the city of Algiers,  until they became part of the mainland in 1525.

Most of the Algeria is coastal area which is hilly, often times even mountainous. This terrain makes for  few good harbours. Just south of the coast there is an area known as the Tell, which is extremely fertile land. The Atlas mountains are further south, and even further south is the Sahara desert. Some of Algeria’s main cities are: Oran, Algiers and Constantine.

Algeria’s climate is extremely hot. Humid at the coats and dry the further inland you travel. Although the climate on the coast is mild, the winters in the mountainous areas can be incredibly severe. Algeria is a very vulernarable country to sirocco, which is a hot dust and sand wind that can rip through the country in the summer.

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the following caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.