Destination Guide To Morocco

GEOGRAPHY & BACKGROUND

Situated on the northwestern corner of Africa, Morocco is bordered with Algeria to the east and southeast, Mauritania to the south and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean.

The country is divided into three natural regions; the fertile northern coastal plaint along the Mediterranean which contains Er Rif, mountains varying in elevation up to about 8,000 ft; the rich plateaus and lowlands lying between the rugged Atlas mountains, which extend in three parallel ranges from the Atlantic coast in the southwest to Algeria and the Mediterranean in the northeast; and the semiarid area in southern and eastern Morocco, which merges into the Sahara Desert, The Atlas Mountains, with an average elevation of 11,000 ft, contain some of the highest peaks of North Africa, including Mt. Toubkal (13,665 ft), the highest of all. South of the Atlas lie the Anti-Atlas Mountains, with volcanic Mt. Siroua (10,000 ft).

Morocco has the most extensive river system in North Africa. Moroccan rivers generally flow northwestward to the Atlantic or southeastward toward the Sahara; the Moulouya is an exception, and flows 350 miles north-eastwards from the Atlas to the Mediterranean. Principal rivers with outlets in the Atlantic are the Oumer River, Sebou, Bou Regreg, Tensift, Draa and Sous. The Ziz and Gheris are the main rivers flowing southward towards the Sahara.

Lowest point: Sebkha Tah -55m
Highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165m

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