Ourika River ( ar, نهر أوريكا) (french: Oued Ourika) is a river in
Morocco, at . It rises in the
High Atlas and flows through the
Ourika Valley, 30 km from
Marrakech
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
.
Natural history
A number of interesting plants have been recorded in this valley beginning in the late 19th century including ''
Fraxinus dimorpha''. This valley is the sole location within the High Atlas Range where the
endangered primate Barbary macaque
The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar.
It is the type species of the ...
, ''Macaca sylvanus'' is known to occur; this primate is found in the Middle Atlas and a few disjunctive populations in Algeria and Gibraltar.
[C. Michael Hogan, 2008.]
Ourika Valley, due to its many waterfalls and several attractions, is a very popular Ourika day trip from Marrakech.
The region is inhabited by
Berber people who practice a traditional way of life. Despite its proximity to
Marrakech
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
, it is still considered relatively "unspoiled".
Image:Salt-pans near Marrakech 2.JPG, Salt production in Ourika Valley
File:Ourika river.jpg, Ourika river itself
Image:OurikaValleyCarpets.jpg, Drying carpets at a Berber village factory in Ourika Valley.
References
Notes
* C. Michael Hogan (2008)
''Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus'' Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg.
* Joseph Dalton Hooker, John Ball and George Maw (1878). ''Journal of a Tour in Marocco and the Great Atlas''. Macmillan and Company.
External links
Atlas Mountains
Rivers of Morocco
{{Morocco-river-stub