Amazmaz

An isolated steep-sided elevation on the western Adrar plateau in Mauritania, approximately 400 km northeast of Nouakchott. At its base lie the gueltas of Amazmaz, a chain of rock-sheltered ponds surrounded by rushes that have sustained life for millennia. The slopes above the water feature Neolithic rock paintings, part of a broader Saharan pastoral art tradition (c. 5500-2000 BC) depicting cattle, hunting scenes, and human figures. The Adrar region contains roughly thirty known rock art sites documenting the transition from a wetter Saharan climate to the present desert.