Geography of Morocco

True-color image of Morocco from Terra spacecraft

Topography of Morocco

Morocco's and Western Sahara's cities and main towns

The geography of Morocco spans from the Atlantic Ocean, to mountainous areas, to the Sahara (desert). Morocco is a Northern African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

A large part of Morocco is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains are located mainly in the center and the south of the country. The Rif Mountains are located in the north of the country. Both ranges are mainly inhabited by the Berber people.

Geography statistics Coordinates: 32°00′N 5°00′W / 32°N 5°W / 32; -5

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 446,550 km²
land: 446,550 km²
water: 250 km²

Area - comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
total: 2 017.9 km
border countries: Algeria 1 559 km, Mauritania 1561 km, Spain (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Spain (Melilla) 9.6 km

Coastline: 1 835 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi)
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)

Physical geography

Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior

Terrain: northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains

Geography - note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sebkha Tah -55 m
highest point: Jbel Toubkal 4165 m

Climate

Dry, hot, sandy summers and mild, wet winters.

Land use and natural resources

Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt

Land use:
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 47%
forests and woodland: 20%
other: 11% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 12 580 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts

Environment

Ecoregions

Main article: List of ecoregions in Morocco

Terrestrial ecoregions

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub

• Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe
• Mediterranean woodlands and forests
• Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets

Temperate coniferous forests

• Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests

Montane grasslands and shrublands

• Mediterranean High Atlas juniper steppe

Deserts and xeric shrublands

• North Saharan steppe and woodlands

Freshwater ecoregions

• Permanent Maghreb
• Temporary Maghreb

Marine ecoregions

• Alboran Sea
• Saharan Upwelling

Current environmental issues

Land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage; siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters

International environmental agreements

Morocco is party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution (MARPOL 73/78), Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of Morocco, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location (excluding the disputed [[Western Sahara] area]).

• Northern-most point – Punta Cires, Tangier-Tétouan region
• Eastern-most point – unnamed point on the border with Algeria immediately east of the town of Iche, Oriental region
• Southern-most point – the border with Western Sahara, Guelmim-Es Semara region*
• Western-most point - the point at which the border with Western Sahara enters the Atlantic Ocean, Guelmim-Es Semara region

• *Note: Morocco does not have a southern-most point, the border being formed by a straight horizontal line

Gallery

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References

• CIA Factbook: Morocco

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Morocco

• European Digital Archive on the Soil Maps of the world Soil Maps of Morocco