extensive sandy dune region of northwestern Niger, west of the Aïr massif. It covers about 40,000 square miles (100,000 square km) and is drained by a number of small, ephemeral watercourses, the longest of which, the Azaouak, eventually empties into the Niger River. Dinosaur fossils have been found at numerous sites in the region. Eastern Talak is crossed (north-south) by the trans-Saharan highway, which links Algiers on the Mediterranean with Kano, Nigeria.