Algeria is not unfrequently the victim of the simoon, or hot wind. This same wind the Italians call sirocco. The Spaniards term it the solano.
Large portions of Algeria are covered by extensive forests of oaks, cedars, pines, and pistachio trees. These supply an abundance of timber and resin.
In the Tell section the olive and the various cereals are cultivated.
Tunis, like the other Barbary States, is traversed by the mountains of the Atlas range, which finally terminate here.
The northern coast of Tunis is steep and rocky. It is indented by numerous bays. The largest of these is the Gulf of Tunis. Two promontories, Cape Blanco and Cape Bon, are the most northern points in Africa.
The eastern coast offers a strong contrast to the northern coast. It is flat, sandy, and unproductive. It bears a strong resemblance to Tripoli, as we shall see. The coast has two large gulfs, Hammamet and Gabes.
The southern portion of Tunis belongs to the desert steppe called Belud-el-Jerid.
Tunis has but one fresh-water lake of any extent. This is situated near the north coast.
The brooks and the torrents of Tunis do not make many wanderings. Their waters lose themselves in the sands, or seek a short course to the sea. None of the streams are navigable.
The longest river was well known to the ancients under the name Bagradas. It now bears the name Mejerdah, and flows in a general northeast direction, into the Gulf of Tunis.