Geography of Algeria
Algeria comprises 2,381,741 square kilometers of land, more than four-fifths of which is desert, in northern Africa, between Morocco and Tunisia. It is the second largest country in Africa, after Sudan. Its Arabic name, Al Jazair (the islands), derives from the name of the capital Algiers (Al Jazair in Arabic), after the small islands formerly found in its harbor. It has a long Mediterranean coastline. The northern portion, an area of mountains, valleys, and plateaus between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, forms an integral part of the section of North Africa known as the Maghreb. This area includes Morocco, Tunisia, and the northwestern portion of Libya known historically as Tripolitania.
Geographic coordinates: 28° N 3° E