Bir el Ater

Bir El Ater بئر العاتر
District
Bir El Ater
Coordinates: 34°44′55″N 8°03′29″E / 34.74861°N 8.05806°E / 34.74861; 8.05806
Country	Algeria
Province	Tébessa Province
Districts	Bir El Ater
Government
• Type	بلدية
Area
• Total	588 sq mi (1,522 km2)
Population  (2008)
• Total	77,727
• Density	130/sq mi (51/km2)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
Post code	12001
Area code	12

Bir el Ater (Arabic: بئر العاتر) is a city located in far eastern Algeria. It is located towards the border with Tunisia, around 87 kilometers south of Tebessa and just beyond the Sahara. The town has a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants.

Bir el Ater is the type site of the Paleolithic Aterian industry. The term Aterian derives from el-Ater. This lithic culture lasted between 40000 – 20000 years BC.

It is now a mining city, located 15 km south of Bir El Ater. There are deposits of Djebel Onk Phosphates, the largest in Algeria which are extracted and shipped by train to Annaba a port, 300 km north on the Mediterranean or are used locally.