Aïr

Aïr 

(also Azbine), a plateau in the southern Sahara, in Niger. It is made up of ancient granites and Quaternary lavas. Its average elevation is 800–900 m, with a maximum of about 1,900 m at an extinct volcano. In the valleys of the wadis there is acacia pricklewood; on the slopes, desert savanna; and on the peaks, bare desert. Livestock—zebu and camel—is raised. In the oases, doom palm, millet, wheat, cotton, and maize are cultivated.