Boumerdas, Boumerdès Province, Algeria

🇩🇿 Boumerdès (بومرداس‎) is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea.

Boumerdès is a seaside city located in the north of Algeria about 50 km east of Algiers and 50 km west of Tizi Ouzou. During French occupation of Algeria, the city was named Rocher Noir, translated from French as Black Rock.

The city became the capital of the province, having the same name, according to the administrative division in 1984.

The city is famous as a scientific centre, including a number of national institutes and the University of M'hamed Bouguerra. The institutes include l'Institut Algérien du Pétrole (the Algerian Petroleum Institute IAP), Faculté des Hydrocarbures et de la Chimie (Faculty of Hydrocarbons and Chemistry FHC), l'Institut National d'Électricité et d'Électronique (The National Institute for Electricity and Electronics INELEC), l'Institut National de Génie mécanique (The National Institute of Mechanical Engineering ENGM), l'Institut National des Industries légères (The National Institute for Light Industries INIL).

The city is also known as an industrial centre containing the headquarters of Sonatrach Exploration, l'Entreprise Nationale de Géophysique (ENAGEO), and le Centre de Recherches et de Développement (Research and Development Center for Sonatrach CRD).

In 2003, a devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The city was one of the most heavily hit places. In total, more than 2,200 people were killed, over 10,000 were injured, and a moderate tsunami damaged boats at the Balearic Islands.