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

. It empties into the Mediterranean Sea 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 Berka ...

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

History

Before French colonisation, the Moulouya River was considered as the border between Ottoman Algeria and the dynasties that controlled Morocco. A battle between the Algerians and the Alawites took place in 1692 at the ford of this river. The Romans called this river '' Malva''. 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 Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, ...

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 confl ...

, 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 192 ...

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