Tinghir ( ar, تنغير,
Tamazight
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber communi ...
: ⵜⵉⵏⵖⵉⵔ), sometimes known as Tinerhir, is a city in the region of
Drâa-Tafilalet
Drâa-Tafilalet ( ar, درعة - تافيلالت, darʿa - tāfīlālt; ber, ⴷⵔⴰ ⵜⴰⴼⵉⵍⴰⵍⵜ, drɛa tafilalt) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 88,836 km2 and had a population of 1,635,008 as ...
, south of the
High Atlas
High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الكبير, Al-Aṭlas al-Kabīr; french: Haut Atlas; shi, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴷⵔⵏ ''Adrar n Dern''), is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of t ...
and north of the
Little Atlas
The Anti-Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الصغير, shi, Aṭlas Mẓẓiyn), also known as Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlant ...
in central
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 to ...
. It is the capital of
Tinghir Province
Tinghir Province () is a province of Morocco in the Drâa-Tafilalet
Drâa-Tafilalet ( ar, درعة - تافيلالت, darʿa - tāfīlālt; ber, ⴷⵔⴰ ⵜⴰⴼⵉⵍⴰⵍⵜ, drɛa tafilalt) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It c ...
.
Its name originally referred to the foothills of the
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...
, but its area has expanded to encompass surrounding villages and refers to the entire
oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
.
The city of Tinghir (''jamaate tinghir'') has a population of 42,044 and the province has 322,412 inhabitants, according to the 2014 census. The predominant ethnic group is
Amazigh
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
s, and the city is at the center of one of the most attractive oases in southern Morocco.
Lush
palm trees
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
cover about on -wide tracts along the Wadi Todgha. After the
Todra Gorge, Wadi Todgha has a difficult passage along the southern slopes of the Atlas Mountains (''Tizgi''); it then flows across the plain, meandering slightly over to Ferkla.
The palm oasis, dense and widespread, is irrigated by a network of pipes and irrigation canals. Occasional heavy rains are absorbed in a few days.
Economy
The economy of Tinghir is based on agriculture, trade and tourism. In addition, many families live on money sent home by relatives working in Europe.
Social and cultural activities are increasing; education projects for young children are increasing in many villages, as well as literacy projects aimed at adults (particularly women). These projects are supported by local and nongovernmental organisations.
Geography
![Todra Gorge2 (js)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Todra_Gorge2_%28js%29.jpg)
Tinghir is an oasis about long and about wide. The climate is
arid subtropical: hot, dry winters in relation to altitude (). There are a few rainy days per year, with the greatest precipitation in fall and winter.
The Tinghir region is wedged between two mountain ranges, stretching over southwest to northeast Morocco: the
High Atlas
High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الكبير, Al-Aṭlas al-Kabīr; french: Haut Atlas; shi, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴷⵔⵏ ''Adrar n Dern''), is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of t ...
in the north, with a high peak over , and the
Little Atlas
The Anti-Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الصغير, shi, Aṭlas Mẓẓiyn), also known as Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlant ...
in the south. The road from
Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate (; ar, ورزازات, Warzāzāt, ; ary, وارزازات, Wārzāzāt; shi, label= Berber, ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ, Warzazat), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Dr ...
to Imtghren parallels the mountains.
During the
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...
the region was invaded by the sea, where thick deposits of sediments rich in marine fossils (particularly of the
ammonitida
Ammonitida is an order of ammonoid cephalopods that lived from the Jurassic through Paleocene time periods, commonly with intricate ammonitic sutures.
Ammonitida is divided into four suborders, the Phylloceratina, Lytoceratina, Ancyloceratina, a ...
class). The uplift of the Atlas Mountains (primarily during the
Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
) caused the withdrawal of the sea and the deformation of rocks into folds and faults.
Wind and river erosion eventually shaped the desert landscape of limestone and clay. The Todgha River has widened these layers of rock, giving rise to canyons high but in some places only wide.
The river widens, developing an oasis edged with the red ochre of the desert.
Government
King Mohammed VI
Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II.
Upon ascending to the throne, Moha ...
gave his approval on 21 January 2009 to make Tinghir an administrative center, an initiative which met the needs of its inhabitants; it provides a legal and institutional framework for reform of territorial administration based on good governance and local self-administration.
External links
{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2021
Oases of Morocco
Populated places in Tinghir Province
Tinghir
Tinghir ( ar, تنغير, Tamazight: ⵜⵉⵏⵖⵉⵔ), sometimes known as Tinerhir, is a city in the region of Drâa-Tafilalet, south of the High Atlas and north of the Little Atlas in central Morocco. It is the capital of Tinghir Province.
It ...
Morocco geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia