Abiod Valley
{{Short description|Valley in Algeria}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Oued el Abiod
| native_name ={{native name|shy|Ighzir Amellal}}
| name_other = Abiod Valley
| image = File:Aurès Ghoufi 2.jpg
| image_size = 210px
| image_caption = Abiod Valley near Ghoufi
| image_alt =
| map =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = Algeria
| source1_location = Djebel Chélia
| source1_coordinates= {{WikidataCoord|display=inline,title}}
| source1_elevation = 2,000 m
| mouth_location = Near Tolga, Biskra Province
| mouth_coordinates =
| mouth_elevation = 200 m
| progression =
| river_system =
| basin_size = 1,100 km
| length = 156 km
| tributaries_right = Oued Chennaoura {{Cite journal|last=Busson|first=Henri|year=1900|title=Les vallées de l'Aurès|url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/geo_0003-4010_1900_num_9_43_6180#|journal=Annales de Géographie|volume=9|issue=43|pages=43–55|via=Persee|doi=10.3406/geo.1900.6180}}
}}
Oued El Abiod (English: Abiod Valley) is a wadi that forms a mountain pass in the Aurès massif, located in the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria.{{Cite book|title=Natural Wonders of the World|publisher=Reader's Digest Association, Inc|year=1980|isbn=978-0-89577-087-5|editor-last=Scheffel|editor-first=Richard L.|location=United States of America|pages=27|editor-last2=Wernet|editor-first2=Susan J.}} Along with Oued Abdi, it is one of the most important wadis in the Aurès massif.{{Cite journal|last=Kimble|first=George H. T.|date=June 1941|title=The Berbers of Eastern Algeria|journal=The Geographical Journal|publisher=The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)|volume=97|issue=6|pages=337–347|jstor=1788169|doi=10.2307/1788169}} During the wet season, rain and melting snow flow into the valley to form the Abiod River. The valley begins at the foot of Djebel Chélia, Algeria's highest mountain, and flows southwest towards Tolga, eventually dissipating into the Sahara desert nearby.
Geography
The vegetation in the highlands on the north end of Abiod Valley is typically Mediterranean with dense forests of oaks, pines and ancient cedars, sustained by the plentiful rainfall on the higher slopes. The southern part is mainly desert with very sparse vegetation, such as oak, juniper, cedar, clumps of thyme, and harmel.{{Sfn|Kimble|1941|p=344}} The valley has several minor oases.
There are many human settlements along the walls of the Abiod Valley, including Ghoufi.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNMLAAAAYAAJ&q=Ghoufi+abiod|title=Il était une fois l'ethnographie|last=Tillion|first=Germaine|date=2000|publisher=Seuil|isbn=9782020257022|pages=94|language=fr}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zA5xAAAAMAAJ&q=Ghoufi+abiod|title=Encyclopédie berbère|last=Isguen-Bouzeis|first=Beni|date=1991|publisher=EDISUD|isbn=9782857442011|pages=1133|language=fr}} The sandstone walls of the valley are soft and easily worked into shape, so many villages on the valley's walls include extensive stonework buildings.{{Sfn|Kimble|1941|p=344}} Near the town of Tighanimine, there is a remnant of an Ancient Roman irrigation canal.{{Sfn|Kimble|1941|p=338}}