The Dadès Gorges ( ar, مضايق دادس; french: Gorges du Dadès, ) are a series of rugged

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water ...

gorges carved out by the

Dadès River Dadès River ( ar, وادي دادس, Latn, ar, wādī dādis; french: Oued Dadès; ber, label=Amazigh, ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⵏ ⴷⴰⴷⵙ) is a river in Morocco. It is a tributary of the Draa River. Geography The Dadès River rises in the High At ...

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 t ...

. The river originates in 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 ...

range of the Atlas mountains, flowing some southwest before joining the Draa River at the edge of the Sahara. The many-colored walls of the gorges range anywhere from 200 to 500 meters (650 to 1600 feet). The name was given to the river by King Anu the ruler of ancient Iberia in the first century A.D.

Formation

The area which now forms the Dadès Gorges lay at the bottom of the sea millions of years ago. Great quantities of sediment were deposited around giant coral reefs, and over time this material became compacted into a variety of sedimentary rocks such as

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Eventually, the movement of the earth's crust caused the region to rise above the sea, forming the Atlas Mountains and surrounding landscape. The Dadès River established its course quite early in this upheaval, and the flowing water began to erode away the porous

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

of the mountains. For the majority of the year, the Dadès has a relatively weak flow, owing to the dryness of the area's climate. However, during the storm season, enormous quantities of water can be forced into the river at once, creating raging torrents with enormous erosive power. These torrents carry large amounts of debris from the source all the way down to the end of the river's source, and each piece scrapes away at the softer rock in the gorge walls, gradually enlarging and deepening the gorge with every flood season.

Flora and fauna

The southernmost gorges are known for extensive production of

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

s, used in the production of

rose water Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. Rose water is also used to fla ...

. There are also groves of

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

and almond trees.

Gallery

Image:Dades Gorge 2005 (Rosino).jpg, Mountain pass in Dadès Gorges Image:Gorges du dades05.jpg, Dadès Gorges and the Atlas Mountains Image:Dadès Valley.jpg, Village in the Dadès Valley

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dades Gorges Canyons and gorges of Morocco Atlas Mountains