Aïn Azel
Encyclopedia
The commune of Aïn Azel is located fifty kilometres to the south of Sétif
in Algeria
, and is at the frontier between Sétif Province
and Batna Province
. The population of Aïn Azel is estimated to be around 41,000 people.
"Azzel" which means "he who runs" or Azel which means "precious". This name, together with the Arabic word Aïn ("Fountain") may therefore mean "the fountain that runs" or "the precious fountain".
Aïn Azel was the site of a mining catastrophe on June 2, 1990, which resulted in the death of approximately twenty workers when a zinc
and lead
mine was flooded.
Longitude: 5°51 east
Altitude: 935 metres
Aïn Azel is virtually surrounded by mountains:
Sétif
Sétif |Colonia]]) is a town in northeastern Algeria. It is the capital of Sétif Province and it has a population of 239,195 inhabitants as of the 1998 census. Setif is located to the east of Algiers and is the second most important Wilaya after the country's capital. It is 1,096 meters above sea...
in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, and is at the frontier between Sétif Province
Sétif Province
Sétif Province is a province in north-eastern Algeria. Its capital and largest city is Sétif, the next largest city is El Eulma. There is also the World Heritage Site of Djémila there.-Administrative divisions:...
and Batna Province
Batna Province
Batna is a wilaya of Algeria. Capital is Batna. Localities in this province include Barika, Merouana and Timgad. Belezma National Park is there.- Administrative divisions :It is made up of 22 districts and 61 municipalities.The districts are:...
. The population of Aïn Azel is estimated to be around 41,000 people.
Origin of the name
The name "Aïn Azel" may come from the BerberBerber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
"Azzel" which means "he who runs" or Azel which means "precious". This name, together with the Arabic word Aïn ("Fountain") may therefore mean "the fountain that runs" or "the precious fountain".
Aïn Azel was the site of a mining catastrophe on June 2, 1990, which resulted in the death of approximately twenty workers when a zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
mine was flooded.
Geography
Latitude: 35°82 northLongitude: 5°51 east
Altitude: 935 metres
Aïn Azel is virtually surrounded by mountains:
- Djebel Loumassa and Djebel Sekrine to the west
- Djebel Gatiane to the south
- Djebel Lehcana to the south-east
- Djebel Kaläaoun to the east