ABSTRACT

Algeria In Algeria people have used caves over a long period of time as shelters, sanctuaries, and sheepfolds. Cave wall paintings have been discovered in the shelters in Tasslli N’Ajjer, in the southern part of Algeria. Many caves are still used today by shepherds (Collignon, 1997). The first modern cave explorations were by French scientists and speleologists at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1948, Anou Boussouil, then 505 m deep, was briefly the world’s second deepest known cave, and the Tafna underground river was Africa’s longest known cave in 1933. During the war for independence (1954-62), explorations could not be made, but caves were widely used as refuges, arsenals, or small hospitals. Systematic explorations by French and Belgian immigrants began again after 1973. Expeditions were organized by European cavers and geologists, and Algerian caving groups were founded, but the civil war that began in 1991 again stopped exploration. There are many small limestone ranges scattered throughout northern Algeria, and four terrains have been found to contain significant karst-the Oran Meseta (plateau), the Tell mountain ranges, the Constantine tabular massifs, and salt and gypsum diapirs.