Al Hoceima National Park (, Tarifit: Afrag Anamur n Lhusima) is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

located outside the town of Al Hoceima in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. It covers an area of , including of sea. The park was created in 2004 and is managed by the ''Haut-Commissariat des eaux et forêts et de la lutte contre la désertification''.

Geography

Bordered on the north by the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast on 50 km and south by the National road 16, Al Hoceima National Park is home to some of the most unspoilt coastal sites on the north coast of Morocco, as well as high cliffs and a mountainous interior. It covers an area of , which includes a terrestrial part (), located on the Ibaqouyen Rif mountain range, and a part located at sea (). Its terrestrial part consists of the partial territories of five communes which are, from west to east, the coastal municipalities of Bni Boufrah, Senada, Rouadi and Izemmouren (between Bni Gmil and Al Hoceima), as well as Ait Kamara, to the south of Izemmouren. The park is characterised by high

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cliffs and a wild rocky coast that has experienced little exploitation over the years.

Flora

One hundred and ten species of vascular plant have been recorded in the national park. Among the trees present are the barbary thuya, the

Aleppo pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book ''The Gardener's Dictionary''; he pro ...

, the lentisk, the wild olive, the carob tree, the Kermes oak, the green oak, the Mediterranean dwarf palm and the jujube. Between the cliffs and rocks are shrubs and grasses, providing a variety of habitats for wildlife. The marine zone is influenced by both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is dominated by forests of '' Cystoseira'' sp., '' Saccorhiza polyschides'', '' Laminaria ochroleuca'', '' Laminaria rodreguizii'', '' Phyllariopsis purpurascens'' and '' Phyllariopsis brevipes'', with 264 species of seaweed having been recorded.

Fauna

Among the many species of seabirds, there is a large colony of

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

s. The waters of the Mediterranean are home to three species of dolphin: the common dolphin, the common bottlenose dolphin and the striped dolphin. The sea caves sometimes provide shelter for the endangered Mediterranean monk seals. The

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of sea turtle, oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around ...

, the leatherback sea turtle and the

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...

feed in the area, and over a hundred species of fish have been recorded here, as well as the rare giant ribbed Mediterranean limpet (''Patella ferruginea'').

References

{{authority control National parks of Morocco Protected areas established in 1942 Geography of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Rif 1942 establishments in Morocco