The Bou Regreg ( ar, أبو رقراق) is a
river located in western
Morocco which discharges to the
Atlantic Ocean between the cities of
Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
and
Salé. The estuary of this river is termed Wadi Sala.
The river is 240 kilometres long, with a tidal
estuary of approximately 24 kilometres extending upriver. Its average
discharge
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...
is 23 m
3/s and can reach 1500 m
3/s during periods of
flooding. The
source of the river originates from the
Middle Atlas mountains at an
altitude of 1627 meters on the level of
Jbel Mtourzgane (Province of
Khemisset) and of Grou (Province of
Khénifra) and descends to its mouth at the
Atlantic Ocean separating the cities of Rabat to the south and Salé to the north.
Water quality
Water quality issues of the Bou Regreg include
tidal saltwater intrusion, excessive
runoff of
nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion
A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...
s from
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
land uses and mercury (element), mercury contamination thought to arise from use of certain pesticides within the drainage basin.
History
The Phoenicians and the Carthage, Carthaginians, who founded several colonies in Morocco, inhabited the banks of the Bou Regreg approximately two kilometers from its mouth at the ancient site of Chellah. This archaeological site contains the ruins of a Ancient Rome, Roman town known as Sala Colonia and referred to as Sala by Ptolemy. Chellah was a significant ancient port city with remains including the Decumanus Maximus, or principal roadway, as well as those of a forum, a monumental fountain, a triumphal arch, and other Roman ruins.
[C. Michael Hogan, ''Chellah'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham, 200]
/ref>
See also
* Hajja
* Republic of Bou Regreg
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Morocco
Rabat
Geography of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra