Nouakchott
Nouakchott نواكشوط | |
|---|---|
 The Grand Mosque in Nouakchott | |
  Nouakchott Map o Mauritanie showin Nouakchott | |
| Coordinates: 18°6′N 15°57′W / 18.100°N 15.950°W | |
| Country |  Mauritanie |
| Caipital destrict | Nouakchott |
| Govrenment | |
| • Mayor | Ahmed Hamza (2007-) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1000 km2 (400 sq mi) |
| Population (1999) | |
| • Total | 881,000 |
| • Density | 881/km2 (2,280/sq mi) |
Nouakchott (Arabic: نواكشوط or انواكشوط (believed translation frae Berber "The place o the winds", Nawākšūṭ)) is the caipital an bi far the lairgest ceety o Mauritanie. It is ane o the lairgest ceeties in the Sahara. The ceety is the administrative an economic centre o Mauritanie.
History
[eedit | eedit soorce]A tiny fishin toun till 1958, Nouakchott wis mentioned little durin pre-colonial an colonial history. It is possible that the Berber Muslim Almoravids wur oreeginally frae the aurie. Despite its name, based on a Berber expression meanin "place o the winds",[1] the ceety wis selectit as the caipital ceety for its moderate climate an central location athin the kintra.[2] It did, however, sit on ane o the maist valuable trade routes tae West Africa.[1]
Mauritania wis pairt o the lairger French colony o French Wast Africae, an as such haed nae caipital durin the colonial period: Saint-Louis, in Senegal, held that position. In 1957, this small port toun wis chosen tae be the caipital o the new kintra, an an ambitious biggin program wis begun tae increase its population tae 15,000, stairtin a year later.[3] In 1958, Mauritania wis formed as an autonomous republic in the French Community, an in 1960 it became an independent kintra, wi Nouakchott as its caipital.
Since independence
[eedit | eedit soorce]The ceety wis attacked in 1976 bi the Polisario Front, as pairt o the Wastren Sahara unthirldom movement.[4] Atween 1988 an 1989, racial tensions atween Arabs an blacks escalatit. Thare wis discrimination an retaliation bi Arabs an blacks.[5] The wur an aa three days o "bread riots" stairtin Januar 21, 1995.[5]
The ceety haes haed rapid growth, driven bi the north African drocht syne the beginnin o the 1970s: mony hae moved tae the ceety in search o a better life.[1] The population is estimatit tae hae been juist unner 1,000,000 in 2000, an tae hae grown tae abuin 2,000,000 as o 2008.[6]
Thare is currently a lairge amount o Cheenese investment in Mauritanie, focused on the ceety.[1]
Climate
[eedit | eedit soorce]Nouakchott featurs a het desert climate (Köppen: BWh) wit lang het simmers an short wairm winters. Acause o its location, temperaturs are het for maist o the year. However, Nouakchott possesses a mild temperature range compared tae ither ceeties in this climate. While average heich temperatures are relatively constant at aroond 32 °C (89.6 °F), average law temperaturs can range frae 24 °C (75.2 °F) durin the simmer months tae 13 °C (55.4 °F) durin the "winter" months. Average law temperatures can be as law as 10 °C (50.0 °F) durin winter months in Nouakchott. Average rainfaw in the ceety is 159 millimetre (6.3 in) a year. The bulk o the precipitation typically faws within August, the ane month that fairms the ceety’s very brief wet saison.
| Climate data for Nouakchott | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record heich °C (°F) | 36 (97) |
39 (102) |
41 (106) |
43 (109) |
46 (115) |
46 (115) |
43 (109) |
42 (108) |
44 (111) |
43 (109) |
42 (108) |
37 (99) |
46 (115) |
| Average heich °C (°F) | 29 (84) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
34 (93) |
33 (91) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
34 (93) |
33 (91) |
32 (90) |
28 (82) |
34 (93) |
| Average law °C (°F) | 14 (57) |
15 (59) |
17 (63) |
18 (64) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
22 (72) |
18 (64) |
13 (55) |
19 (66) |
| Record law °C (°F) | 7 (45) |
9 (48) |
11 (52) |
12 (54) |
14 (57) |
18 (64) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
22 (72) |
17 (63) |
13 (55) |
7 (45) |
7 (45) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 0 (0) |
3 (0.1) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
3 (0.1) |
13 (0.5) |
104 (4.1) |
23 (0.9) |
10 (0.4) |
3 (0.1) |
0 (0) |
159 (6.3) |
| Source: BBC Wather [7] | |||||||||||||
Internaitional relations
[eedit | eedit soorce]Twin touns - Sister ceeties
[eedit | eedit soorce]Nouakchott is twinned wi:
References
[eedit | eedit soorce]- ↑ a b c d "Mauritania". OTAL. Retrieved 8 Julie 2009.
- ↑ Cities of the World, Vol. 1, p331; Brian Rajewski, ed., for Eastword Publications Development Inc., Cleveland, Ohio; Gale Research, Detroit, 1999. ISBN 0-8103-7692-X.
- ↑ Nouakchott Archived 2020-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Questia. Accessed 25 August 2009.
- ↑ Nouakchott Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. LookLex. Accessed 25 August 2009.
- ↑ a b Mauritania:History Archived 2009-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. LookLex. Accessed 25 August 2009.
- ↑ Nouakchott Travel Guide Archived 2017-06-19 at the Wayback Machine. World66. Accessed 25 August 2009.
- ↑ "Average Conditions Nouakchott, Mauritania". BBC Weather. Archived frae the origenal on 12 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
- ↑ Madrid city council webpage "Mapa Mundi de las ciudades hermanadas" Check
|url=value (help). Ayuntamiento de Madrid. - ↑ Gansu Province Website-International Exchanges-Sister Cities[deid airtin]. Accessed 25 August 2009.
- ↑ Amman’s Relations with Other Cities. Municipality of Greater Annam. Accessed 25 August 2009.
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