Drâa-Tafilalet ( ar, درعة - تافيلالت, darʿa - tāfīlālt; ber, ⴷⵔⴰ ⵜⴰⴼⵉⵍⴰⵍⵜ, drɛa tafilalt) is one of the twelve regions of

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 covers an area of 88,836 km² and had a population of 1,635,008 as of the

2014 Moroccan census The 2014 Moroccan census was held in Morocco between 1 September and 20 September 2014. The census was conducted by the High Planning Commission.Errachidia Errachidia ( ar, الرشيدية, Berber: ⵉⵎⴻⵜⵖⴰⵔⵏ Imetɣaren) is a city in Morocco, located in the Errachidia Province, and is the capital of the Drâa-Tafilalet region. The city's residents speak Berber and Moroccan Arabic ...

Geography

Drâa-Tafilalet is situated in 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 ...

of Morocco. Its main watersheds are that of the

Draa River :''Dra is also the abbreviation for the constellation Draco.'' The Draa ( ber, Asif en Dra, ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⴻⵏ ⴷⵔⴰ, ary, واد درعة, wad dərʿa; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara) is Morocco's longes ...

in the west and the

Ziz River The Ziz River ( ar, وادي زيز ' or ') is a river in the south of Morocco and Algeria. It has its source in the High Atlas mountains of Morocco and flows into the Sahara Desert in Algeria. Although water flow is intermittent along the Ziz ...

, which irrigates the

Tafilalt Tafilalt or Tafilet (; ar, تافيلالت), historically Sijilmasa, is a region and the largest oasis in Morocco. Etymology The word "Tafilalt" is an Amazigh word and it means "Jug", which is specifically a pottery jar used to store water. H ...

oasis, in the east. Drâa-Tafilalet borders five other Moroccan regions:

Souss-Massa Souss-Massa ( ar, سوس ماسة, sūs māssa; ber, ⵙⵓⵙ ⵎⴰⵙⵙⴰ, sus massa) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 51,642 km² and had a population of 2,676,847 as of the 2014 Moroccan census. The capi ...

to the southwest, Marrakech-Safi to the west,

Béni Mellal-Khénifra Béni Mellal-Khénifra ( ar, بني ملال - خنيفرة, banī mallāl - ḵunayfira; ber, ⴰⵢⵜ ⵎⵍⵍⴰⵍ - ⵅⵏⵉⴼⵕⴰ, ayt mllal - xnifṛa) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 28,374 km2 a ...

to the northwest,

Fès-Meknès Fès-Meknès or Fez-Meknes ( ar, فاس-مكناس, fās maknās; ber, ⴼⴰⵙ-ⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, fas mknas) is among the twelve Regions of Morocco. It has a population of 4,236,892 (2014 census). Its capital is Fez. Its current president is M ...

to the north, and

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

to the northeast. It also borders two of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Tindouf Tindouf (Berber: Tinduf, ar, تندوف) is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. The commune has population of around 160,000 but the census and population ...

in the south and

Béchar Béchar ( ar, بشار) is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growt ...

in the southeast.

History

Drâa-Tafilalet was formed in September 2015 by integrating the provinces of Errachidia and Midelt in Meknès-Tafilalet region with three provinces of the

Souss-Massa-Drâa Souss-Massa-Drâa (; ber, ⵙⵓⵙ ⵎⴰⵙⴰ ⴷⵔⴰ) was formerly one of the sixteen regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It covered an area of 70,880 km² and had a population of 3,601,917 (2014 census). The capital is Agadir. One o ...

region.

Government

Lahbib Choubani of the Justice and Development Party was elected as the regional council's first president on 14 September 2015. Mohamed Fanid was appointed governor (''wali'') of the region on 13 October 2015. He was succeeded by Mohamed Benribag in 2017.

Subdivisions

Drâa-Tafilalet comprises five provinces: * Errachidia Province * Ouarzazate Province * Midelt Province * Tinghir Province * Zagora Province

Economy

Agriculture and

pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal ...

have traditionally been major economic activities in the region, but they have been adversely impacted in recent years by increasing

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused b ...

. There is a filmmaking industry concentrated in the

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 Drâ ...

area. The fortified towns in the area, such as the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Aït Benhaddou, are popular tourist attractions. Traditional arts and crafts such as the pottery of

Tamegroute Tamegroute (also spelled Tamgrout; Berber: ⵜⴰⵎⴳⵔⵓⵜ , Arabic: تامكروت) is a village located in the Draa River valley in southern Morocco. It historically served as a hub of learning and religion through its famous Sufi zawiya. ...

and the rugs of Taznakht are also significant to the local economy.

Infrastructure

The largest towns in the region, Errachidia and Ouarzazate, are linked together by National Route 10. The Draa valley is served by National Route 9 which also links Ouarzazate with

Marrakesh 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 Marrake ...

to the northwest. National Route 13 runs along the Ziz valley and links Errachidia with

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th ...

to the north. Ouarzazate has the busiest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfac ...

in the region; the airports at Errachidia and Zagora also have commercial service.

References

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