Thala (Arabic: تالة, romanized: Tāla) is a town and commune in Tunisia. It is located in the Kasserine Governorate since 1956. As of the 2004 census it had 13,968 inhabitants.[1] The altitude of Thala is 1,017 metres (3,337 ft), which makes it the highest and the coldest[2] town in the country.
Thala
Tāla تالة | |
|---|---|
 Ruins at Thala | |
  Thala Location in Tunisia | |
| Coordinates: 35°34′N 8°40′E / 35.567°N 8.667°E | |
| Country |  Tunisia |
| Governorate | Kasserine Governorate |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Abdelmagid Hayouni (Independent) |
| Elevation | 1,017 m (3,337 ft) |
| Population (2014)[1] | |
• Total | 18,230 |
History
editDuring the Roman Empire Thala was the site of a Roman settlement and was the seat of an ancient bishopric. It still has a titular absentee bishop (currently the auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Richard Umbers), who is appointed by the Pope.[3]
In 1906, an attack by local bedouin on the French civil administration offices during the Thala-Kasserine Disturbances was the first violent resistance to French authority under the protectorate.[4]
Thala was the scene of fierce fighting during World War II, in the late stages of the Battle of the Kasserine Pass. The 10th Panzer Division sought to exploit its early success against US forces. In a series of defensive actions on 21 February 1943, the British 26th Armoured Brigade, part of Nickforce, and the divisional artillery of the U.S. 9th infantry Division, arriving after an 800-mile forced march, blocked an advance by the German division's Kampfgruppe which, despite coming under the personal command of Erwin Rommel, were finally unable to make headway through fire from British tanks and artillery.[5]
Geography
editClimate
editThe climate in Thala is cold semi-arid (BSk, according to the Köppen climate classification), with Mediterranean influences. Summers are moderately hot (by Saharan standards) and dry, and winters are chilly and wetter. Snowfalls can occur seldom.
| Climate data for Thala, Tunisia (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1976–2017) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 21.2 (70.2) |
27.5 (81.5) |
29.9 (85.8) |
30.9 (87.6) |
38.2 (100.8) |
39.3 (102.7) |
41.0 (105.8) |
40.6 (105.1) |
39.1 (102.4) |
33.6 (92.5) |
27.1 (80.8) |
24.8 (76.6) |
41.0 (105.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) |
10.6 (51.1) |
13.7 (56.7) |
17.2 (63.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
28.4 (83.1) |
32.0 (89.6) |
31.4 (88.5) |
26.1 (79.0) |
21.1 (70.0) |
14.6 (58.3) |
10.4 (50.7) |
19.8 (67.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) |
6.3 (43.3) |
8.8 (47.8) |
11.6 (52.9) |
16.5 (61.7) |
21.4 (70.5) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
19.9 (67.8) |
16.0 (60.8) |
10.5 (50.9) |
6.9 (44.4) |
14.4 (57.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) |
2.7 (36.9) |
4.5 (40.1) |
6.6 (43.9) |
10.8 (51.4) |
15.1 (59.2) |
18.3 (64.9) |
18.4 (65.1) |
15.0 (59.0) |
11.8 (53.2) |
7.0 (44.6) |
3.8 (38.8) |
9.7 (49.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −8.4 (16.9) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
0.4 (32.7) |
4.9 (40.8) |
6.9 (44.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
6.3 (43.3) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 41.9 (1.65) |
28.1 (1.11) |
46.0 (1.81) |
42.9 (1.69) |
43.6 (1.72) |
31.1 (1.22) |
10.9 (0.43) |
25.5 (1.00) |
42.4 (1.67) |
32.2 (1.27) |
43.4 (1.71) |
39.6 (1.56) |
427.6 (16.84) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.5 | 5.4 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 61.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 74 | 70 | 71 | 67 | 63 | 55 | 47 | 52 | 60 | 67 | 73 | 73 | 64 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 161.7 | 170.4 | 209.8 | 224.5 | 275.4 | 304.1 | 343.7 | 306.2 | 237.2 | 211.9 | 176.5 | 155.8 | 2,777.2 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 53 | 57 | 57 | 58 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 74 | 65 | 62 | 58 | 52 | 63 |
| Source: Institut National de la Météorologie (precipitation days and humidity 1961–1990)[6][7][8][9][note 1] | |||||||||||||
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Recensement de 2004 (Institut national de la statistique) Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- ^ "Thala, Thala Ouest, Thala, Gouvernorat de Kasserine, Tunisia". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ^ Donovan, Ned. "The bishops who've never seen their dioceses". Catholic Herald.
- ^ Masri, Safwan M. (2017-09-05). Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-54502-0.
- ^ United States Army in World War II - Mediterranean Theater of Operations - Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative In the West, by George F. Howe, Department of the Army 1957 (pp. 464-466)
- ^ "Les normales climatiques en Tunisie entre 1981 2010" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ "Climatic Data". Institut National de la Météorologie. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ^ "Données normales climatiques 1961-1990" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ "Les extrêmes climatiques en Tunisie" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ "Réseau des stations météorologiques synoptiques de la Tunisie" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
 | This Tunisia location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |