ALGERIA
(Democratic and People's Republic Algeria)

Capital: Algeria (Algeria)

Flag: national flag consists of two equal vertical strips, one green and one white, with the red crescent surrounded with a five-pointed red star in the center.

CURRENCY: The Algerian dinar (DA) is paper currency in 100 centimes. There are coins from 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 centimes and 1, 5 and 10 dinars and a note of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 dinars. da1 = $0,01395 (or $1 = da71.67) as of 2005.

WEIGHT AND MEASURES: the metric system is the legal standard.

HOLIDAYS: New year, on January 1; Labor Day, on May 1; Ben Bella's Overthrow, on June 19; Independence Day, on July 5; Day of revolution, on November 1. Muslim religious holidays include "Id al-Fitr", "Id al-'Adha", the 1st Mukharram (Muslim New year) and Milad an-Nabi. Christians observe the religious holidays.

ARRANGEMENT, SIZE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Algeria located in northwest Africa along the Mediterranean Sea is the second-large country on the continent. Rather, it is a little less, than 3,5 times more, than in Texas, with a total area of 2 381 740 sq.km (919 595 quarter. Miles). Extending about 2 400 km (1 500 miles) e-w and 2100 km (1,300 miles) of nanosecond, Algeria is limited on the fact that now in the Mediterranean Sea, across Tunisia and Libya, across Niger, in the southeast of Mali, on Mauritania and also on w and nw Western Sahara and Morocco; total length of border is 6 343 km (3933 miles). As of the end of 2002 of a problem of land border and disputes with Libya were not resolved.

The capital of Algeria, Algeria, is located on northern border of the country on the Mediterranean Sea.

TOPOGRAPHY

The parallel ridges of the Atlas of Tell or Maritime including coastal massifs and northern internal ridges, and the Sahara atlas divide Algeria into three main longitudinal zones operating in the basic on the East-West: Mediterranean area or Tell; High plateaus, including Great and Small Kabiliya's regions; and the Sahara Desert of which, at least, 80% of total area of Algeria are the share. About a half of the territory of Algeria makes 900 m (3000 feet) or more above sea level, and about 70% of the area are from 760 to 1680 m (2,500-5500 feet) at height. The highest point - Mount Takhat (3,003 m / 9,852 feet), in the Akhagarsky ridge of the Sahara.

Only the main Tella Rivers have water all the year round, and even then the summer stream is small. Any of the rivers isn't navigable. Mountainous areas of the High Plateau badly pour down; the majority of the rivers and streams (streamlets) flows irregularly as they depend on water at unstable rainfall. In High Platonakh is a lot of salt swamps and dry or shallow salty lakes (себхас or drot). The earth more and more dry becomes farther on the South, merging with absolutely dry desert.