The Moulouya River ( Berber: ''iɣẓer en Melwect'', ) is a 520 km-long river in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. Its sources are located in the Ayashi mountain in the

Middle Atlas The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region ...

. It empties into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

near

Saïdia Saïdia ( ar, السعيدية, translit=Al-sa'idiyya; ber, ⴰⵊⵔⵓⴷ, ''Ajrud''), known as the ''"Blue Pearl"'', is a beach town in northeastern Morocco near Berkane, in the great area of Beni Znassen. It is located in the province Berkan ...

, in northeast Morocco. Water level in the river often fluctuates. The river is used for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

and is dammed by the

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People * Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

and

Mohamed V Dam The Mohamed V Dam is an arch-gravity dam located south of Zaio on the Moulouya River in Oujda-Angad Province, Morocco. The primary purpose of the dam is supplying water for the irrigation of downstream. Water is also used for hydroelectric powe ...

History

Before French colonisation, the Moulouya River was considered as the border between Ottoman Algeria and the dynasties that controlled Morocco. A

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

between the Algerians and the Alawites took place in 1692 at the ford of this river. The Romans called this river ''

Malva ''Malva'' is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temper ...

''. In medieval British pseudo-history, it was mentioned as a location along the route supposedly travelled by the ancestors of the

Scotti ''Scoti'' or ''Scotti'' is a Latin name for the Gaels,Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p.698 first attested in the late 3rd century. At first it referred to all Gaels, whether in Ireland or Great Britain, but l ...

, and by

Brutus of Troy Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears in the ''Historia Brittonum'', an anonymous ...

. The Moulouya River formed the eastern border of the kingdom of Mauretania since King

Bocchus I Bocchus, often referred to as Bocchus I for clarity, was king of Mauretania from - 80 BCE. He was father-in-law to the Numidian king Jugurtha, with whom he initially allied against the Romans in the Jugurthine War, a lengthy and indecisive conf ...

, and more recently of the

Rif Republic The Republic of the Rif ( Tarifit: ''Tagduda n Arrif'', ''Jumhūriyya ar-Rīf''), unofficially The Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the Rif, also recorded as the Riff, was a short-lived republic in northern Morocco that existed between 19 ...

in the 1920s, a small part of Morocco containing important cities like Saïdia and Oujda lying to the east, between the Moulouya and the border with Algeria. Until 1956 the river also formed the eastern border of the

Spanish Protectorate of Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco ; es, Protectorado español de Marruecos, links=no, was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protect ...

Désastre écologique pour le fleuve Moulouya au Maroc (6034999449)

Ecology

In August 2011 fish were killed by pollutants in the Moulouya River and local residents feared for their crops and livestock.

References

External links

* Rivers of Morocco Ramsar sites in Morocco {{Morocco-river-stub