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16.86° N, 9.6° E
So I've had this idea for awhile now, in an attempt to learn a little more about our planet, pick a random latitude/longitude coordinate and then learn what I can about that place.
So, giving it a try and I get 16.86° N, 9.6° E.
Physical geography:
That would be smack in the middle of the Sahara Desert, or more specifically the Ténéré Desert. Some surprisingly good satellite imagery for the middle of nowhere. Mostly sand dunes, some rocky areas, probably hardly any vegetation to speak of - I suspect this spot looks pretty much like your stock Sahara Desert photos. It is very hot (high today was 100) and very dry (maybe an inch of rain a year). If you're lucky you might see an Addax.
Human geography:
There is a good chance that no human has ever been to this spot. The nearest named feature is a sand dune formation called Gadoufaoua, which is Toureg for "the place where camels fear to go", so I'm thinking not very hospitable. It's about 50 miles to the nearest signs of civilizations, some isolated farms in the foothills of the Aïr Mountains and another 20 to the closest town, Tabelot. Still we like to divide up the Earth, so we're in the country of Niger, Agadez Region, Tchiozerine Department, Tabelot commune - and one of the most sparsely populated areas of Africa. Nearest real city is Agadez, about 100 miles to the west, which would also be the closest airport, and paved roads for that matter. Off-roading through the desert appears common so it might be possible to drive here as long as you don't get stuck in the sand. Travel by camel is also an option.
If anyone is to be found here they are probably of the Tuareg people, which is a culture about as different as my own as it is possible to be. The Tuareg are one of the major ethnic groups of the Sahara and traditionally controlled the trans-Sahara trade routes. One of the few caravan routes that is still run regularly lies about 50 miles north of our point (Agadez to Bilma). The Tuareg were independent until conquered by the French in the earlier 1900's and they are now split among several countries that were carved out of French West Africa. The speak their own language, which has its own alphabet, though now converted to also use Latin and Arabic alphabets as well. For the most part they are Sunni Muslims, though with quite a few pre-Islamic beliefs still being kept. Michael Palin visited the area for his travel show and you get a peek at the culture through his blog about it.
On the far side of the caravan route lies the Aïr and Ténéré National Natural Reserve which looks like it features very similar terrain though with a little more life. There could be tourist potential in the area with both the nature reserve and Agadez being UNESCO world heritage sites, but I think fighting between Tuareg rebels and the Niger government have scared them away - the State Dept. still advises against it, though it appears the last active fighting was about 10 years ago.
I think that's about all there is to say about this spot given the lack of people, or life, or water, or anything other than sand, but looking at it did send me down a rabbit hole of reading about the Tuareg.
So, giving it a try and I get 16.86° N, 9.6° E.
Physical geography:
That would be smack in the middle of the Sahara Desert, or more specifically the Ténéré Desert. Some surprisingly good satellite imagery for the middle of nowhere. Mostly sand dunes, some rocky areas, probably hardly any vegetation to speak of - I suspect this spot looks pretty much like your stock Sahara Desert photos. It is very hot (high today was 100) and very dry (maybe an inch of rain a year). If you're lucky you might see an Addax.
Human geography:
There is a good chance that no human has ever been to this spot. The nearest named feature is a sand dune formation called Gadoufaoua, which is Toureg for "the place where camels fear to go", so I'm thinking not very hospitable. It's about 50 miles to the nearest signs of civilizations, some isolated farms in the foothills of the Aïr Mountains and another 20 to the closest town, Tabelot. Still we like to divide up the Earth, so we're in the country of Niger, Agadez Region, Tchiozerine Department, Tabelot commune - and one of the most sparsely populated areas of Africa. Nearest real city is Agadez, about 100 miles to the west, which would also be the closest airport, and paved roads for that matter. Off-roading through the desert appears common so it might be possible to drive here as long as you don't get stuck in the sand. Travel by camel is also an option.
If anyone is to be found here they are probably of the Tuareg people, which is a culture about as different as my own as it is possible to be. The Tuareg are one of the major ethnic groups of the Sahara and traditionally controlled the trans-Sahara trade routes. One of the few caravan routes that is still run regularly lies about 50 miles north of our point (Agadez to Bilma). The Tuareg were independent until conquered by the French in the earlier 1900's and they are now split among several countries that were carved out of French West Africa. The speak their own language, which has its own alphabet, though now converted to also use Latin and Arabic alphabets as well. For the most part they are Sunni Muslims, though with quite a few pre-Islamic beliefs still being kept. Michael Palin visited the area for his travel show and you get a peek at the culture through his blog about it.
On the far side of the caravan route lies the Aïr and Ténéré National Natural Reserve which looks like it features very similar terrain though with a little more life. There could be tourist potential in the area with both the nature reserve and Agadez being UNESCO world heritage sites, but I think fighting between Tuareg rebels and the Niger government have scared them away - the State Dept. still advises against it, though it appears the last active fighting was about 10 years ago.
I think that's about all there is to say about this spot given the lack of people, or life, or water, or anything other than sand, but looking at it did send me down a rabbit hole of reading about the Tuareg.
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