Souss-Massa ( ar, سوس ماسة, sūs māssa; ber, ⵙⵓⵙ ⵎⴰⵙⵙⴰ, sus massa) 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 A ...

. It covers an area of 51,642 km² and had a population of 2,676,847 as of the 2014 Moroccan census. The capital of the region is Agadir.

Geography

Souss-Massa borders the regions of

Marrakesh-Safi Marrakesh-Safi or Marrakech-Asfi ( ar, مراكش آسفي, murrākuš āsafi; ( ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ ⴰⵙⴼⵉ, mṙṙakš asfi) is one of the ten Regions of Morocco.

to the north, Drâa-Tafilalet to the northeast and Guelmim-Oued Noun to the southwest. To the southeast is

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

's Tindouf Province. The region faces the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

on its western side: much of the coast is protected by

Souss-Massa National Park The Souss-Massa National Park (''Parc National de Souss-Massa'') is a 33,800 hectare national park on the Atlantic coast of Morocco which was created in 1991. It lies between Agadir to the north and Sidi Ifni to the south and its centre is at 9° ...

. The interior of the region is dominated by the

Anti-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 Atlanti ...

mountain range, while the

Sous River The Sous River, Sus River or Souss River ( Berber: Asif en Sus, Arabic: واد سوس) is a river in mid-southern Morocco located in the Sous region. It originates in the High Atlas and flows west passing Aoulouz, Taroudannt, Oulad Teima, Inezga ...

runs across the northern part of the region, in the valley between the Anti-Atlas and 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 ...

. The capital Agadir is located at the mouth of the Sous.

Toubkal National Park Toubkal National Park is a national park in the High Atlas mountain range, 70 kilometres from Marrakesh in central-western Morocco. Established in 1942, it covers an area of 380 km2. Jbel Toubkal is the highest peak of the park at 4,167 metre ...

extends into the northeastern corner of the region.

History

Souss-Massa was formed in September 2015 by merging

Tata Province Tata is a province in the Moroccan economic region of 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 h ...

, formerly part of

Guelmim-Es Semara Guelmim-Es Semara () was one of the sixteen former regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It covered an area of 122,825 km² and had a population of 501,921 (2014 census). The regional capital was Guelmim. Geography The southern half of Guelmin-Es ...

region, with five provinces of the former Souss-Massa-Drâa region.

Government

of the RNI was elected as the regional council's first president on 14 September 2015. He had previously headed the Souss-Massa-Drâa regional council. Zineb El Adaoui was appointed governor (''wali'') of the region on 13 October 2015. He was succeeded by Ahmed Hajji in 2017.

Subdivisions

Souss-Massa comprises two prefectures and four provinces: * Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane Prefecture * Chtouka-Aït Baha Province * Inezgane-Aït Melloul Prefecture *

Taroudannt Province Taroudant is a province in the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa. Its population in 2004 was 780,661. The major cities and towns are: * Ait Iaaza * Aoulouz * El Guerdane * Irherm * Oulad Berhil * Oulad Teima * Taliouine * Taroudant Subdivision ...

* Tiznit Province

Economy

Agriculture is a major economic activity in the Sous and

Massa Massa may refer to: Places *Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara. *Massa (river), river in Switzerland * Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...

river basins located in the northwestern part of the region. Industries related to the processing of agricultural and seafood products are also concentrated in the same area. Agadir is an important fishing and tourist port. Tiznit is known for its traditional silverwork.

Infrastructure

The A7 motorway connects Agadir 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 Marrakes ...

and

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

. The major north–south road through the region is the N1, while the N10 runs east–west in the Sous River valley, connecting Agadir to Taroudannt and

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 D ...

. Agadir is a major port city in Morocco and also has an international airport.

References

{{Regions of Morocco