Morocco+Geography

Morocco's Geography
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Morocco, about one-tenth larger than California, lies across the Strait of Gibraltar on the Mediterranean and looks out on the Atlantic from the northwest shoulder of Africa. Algeria is to the east and Mauritania to the south. On the Atlantic coast there is a fertile plain. The Mediterranean coast is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains, running northeastward from the south to the Algerian frontier average 11,000 ft (3,353 m) in elevation. Information from [|Info Please]
 * Topography **



Morocco boasts a diverse geography which includes four distinct mountain ranges, as well as verdant valleys, breathtaking coastlines, and large desert areas. The three main mountain ranges, which run parallel to each other from the southwest to the northeast, are the Middle Atlas, the High Atlas, and the Anti-Atlas. Morocco's highest peak is Jebel Toukbal at 13,665 feet. The Moroccan coastline, which borders the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, beckons with fantastic beaches and historical coastal cities. Southwest Morocco is dominated by mountain ranges that yield to expanses of the Sahara Desert. Rivers flow down this side of the High Atlas Mountains creating lush river valleys. Information from [|Moroccan Rugs: About Morocco]

**Natural resources** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Morocco's main natural resources consist of phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt. [|Index Mundi]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Morocco, Africa, has a moderate, subtropical climate, cooled by breezes from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Inland, the temperatures can be quite extreme, getting very hot in the summer and quite cold in the winter. In Marrakech the average temperature in summer is a sizzling 100°F (38°C)! In winter it´s around 70ºF (21ºC). In mountainous areas (like the Atlas range) temperatures often drop below zero and mountain peaks remain snow-capped throughout most of the year. Northern Morocco gets very wet and rainy during the winter, whereas in the south, at the edge of the Sahara, it gets bitterly dry and cold. The average annual temperatures of Morocco´s major cities are as follows: Rabat, 71° F; Casablanca, 69° F; Marrakesh, 71° F; Fez, 66 °F; Meknes, 68° F; and, Tangier, 66°F. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Information from [|Costasur]
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Climate **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The estimated population of Morocc in 1997 was 28,564,572, giving the country an overall population density of 161 per sq mi. The original population of Morocco was Berber, and about three-quarters of all present day Moroccans are of Berber descent. Arabs, who constitute the bulk of the inhabitants of the larger cities, form the second largest ethnic group. Considerable intermarriage among Arabs, Berbers, and the country's small number of black Africans has broken down differences among ethnic groups. Morocco has about 100,000 Europeans, most of them French. Therural population in 1996 was 51% of the country's total. [|Arabic German Consulting]
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Population **