La Güera (, ; also known as ''La Agüera'', ''Lagouira'', ''El Gouera'') is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast at the southern tip of

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

, on the western side of the

Ras Nouadhibou Ras Nouadhibou () is a peninsula or headland divided by the border between Mauritania and Western Sahara on the African coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Since colonial times, it has internationally been known as ''Cabo Blanco'' in Spanish or ''Cap ...

peninsula which is split in two by the

Mauritania–Western Sahara border The Mauritania–Western Sahara border is in length and runs from the tripoint with Algeria in the north-east to the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west. Description The border starts in the north at the tripoint with Algeria, proceeding south in ...

, west of

Nouadhibou Nouadhibou (; , ), formerly named Port-Étienne, is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial center. The city has about 173,000 inhabitants. It is situated on a 65-kilometre peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou ...

. It is also the name of a daira at the

Sahrawi refugee camps The Sahrawi refugee camps (; ), also known as the Tindouf camps, are a collection of refugee camps set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria, in 1975–76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara dur ...

in south-western Algeria. It is the southernmost town of

. La Güera is situated about south of the

Moroccan Wall The Moroccan Western Sahara Wall or the Berm, also called the Moroccan sand wall (), is an approximately berm running south to north through Western Sahara and the southwestern portion of Morocco. It separation barrier, separates the Morocca ...

at Guerguerat and is technically abandoned.

History

The name La Güera comes from the Spanish word ' which is a ditch that carries rainwater to crops.

Foundation and settlement

La Güera came into existence in late 1920, when Spanish colonizer Francisco Bens (who had earlier taken possession of the

Cape Juby Cape Juby (, trans. ''Raʾs Juby'', ) is a cape on the coast of southern Morocco, near the border with Western Sahara, directly east of the Canary Islands. Its surrounding area, including the cities of Tarfaya and Tan-Tan, is called the C ...

region as a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

in 1916), after negotiating with tribal chiefs of the zone, established a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

and an air base on the western side of the

peninsula, just a few kilometers away from the French settlement of Port-Étienne (now

) on the eastern side of the peninsula. (In the 1912

Convention of Madrid Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law ** Convention (political norm), uncodified legal or political tradition * Convention (meeting) ...

, Spain and France had agreed on a border between Mauritania and Spanish possessions that ran down the middle of the peninsula.) In 1924, La Güera was incorporated into the Spanish colony of

Río de Oro Río de Oro (, Spanish for "River of Gold"; , , often transliterated as ''Oued Edhahab'') is the southern geographic region of Western Sahara. It was, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of S ...

. During the short period (1920–1924) that the town was ruled as a separate part of the colony it released its own postage stamps. The town was served by

La Güera Airport La Güera Airport was located adjacent to La Güera, Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is control ...

until the 1970s.

Western Sahara War

In 1979, when Mauritania withdrew from the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, La Güera's population was estimated to be 816 inhabitants. Since the Alegal Madrid Tripartite Agreement of 1975 it remains

Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

in dispute. Before the long Sahrawi liberation war, the city was famous for its rich marine fauna: the monk seal as a symbol of the City, cetaceans and the special relationship of symbiosis in the art of fishing of these (

dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

) with fishermen belonging to the segment of the Sahrawi population most attached to Berber customs whose

Amazigh Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their u ...

language was still preserved, in the highest proportion of the territory, in addition to techniques and linguistic terms in common with Spanish fishermen from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and brothers of the same ethnic group imraguen, from the Mauritanian side. The times when the ''Canary-Saharan fishing bank'' functioned at full capacity for the local people are now only memories of the yesterday. By 2002, it had been still abandoned and partially overblown by sand, inhabited only by a very few Imraguen fishermen Redouane Ramdani,
Enquête: Aux frontières du réel
'', TelQuel, issue 248, 18–24 November 2004 and guarded by a

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

n military outpost, despite this not being Mauritanian territory.

Twin towns and sister cities

Cartel ciudades hermanadas Crevillente-2

Águilas Águilas () is a municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the Costa Cálida, near the border with the Province of Almer ...

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Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(''since July 18, 2005'') *

Alaquàs Alaquàs (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Horta Oest Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' in the Valencia (autonomous community), Valencian Community. Etymology The town's name is of Arabic origin, coming from ' ...

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Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, Spain (''since April 14, 2004'') * Almansa,

Albacete Albacete ( , , ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Los Llan ...

, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain *

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Gemellaggi e Patti di Amicizia
Regione Toscana – Consiglio Regionale, 27 March 2010 * Crevillent,

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, Valencian Community, Spain *

El Puerto de Santa María El Puerto de Santa María (), locally known as El Puerto and historically in English as Port Saint Mary, is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. , the c ...

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, Andalucía, Spain (''since 1993'') *

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, Tuscany, Italy (''since 2009'') *

Gorliz Gorliz () is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, which lies within the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in northern Spain. The town had 5,664 inhabitants in 2014. Gorliz consists of the following neighborhoods: ...

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, Basque Country, Spain *

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, Spain *

Iurreta Iurreta is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Autonomous Community, northern Spain. Incorporated into the municipality of Durango in 1926, Iurreta regained its independent status in 19 ...

, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain *

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(''since August 17, 2001'') * Londa,

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, Tuscany, Italy (''since 2017'') * Monteriggioni,

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, Tuscany, Italy * Orio,

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, Basque Country, Spain *

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, Tuscany, Italy *

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, Spain (''since October 29, 1986 -First twinning between a Sahrawi and a Spanish town-'') * Valle de Yerri,

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, Spain (''since September 29, 2005'') *

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória ( ...

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

, Basque Country, Spain (''since 1987'').Un libro de fotografías conmemora el XX aniversario del hermanamiento de Vitoria con la Daira de la Güera

El Diario Vasco ''El Diario Vasco'' ( English: ''The Basque Daily'') is a Spanish morning daily newspaper based in San Sebastián, Basque Country. History and profile ''El Diario Vasco'' was founded in 1934 by the Sociedad Vascongada de Publicaciones, led by ...

, 2 March 2008

References

External links

Map of Ras Nouadhibou peninsula

El Último Testigo La Agüera
Memories of the son of a Spanish lieutenant in La Güera during the 1930s {{DEFAULTSORT:Guera, La Ghost towns in Africa Former populated places in Western Sahara Military locations of Mauritania Border crossings in divided regions Populated places established in 1920 1920 establishments in Africa