Dadès River (; ; ) is a river 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 is a tributary of the

Draa River :''Dra is also the abbreviation for the constellation Draco.'' The Draa (, ; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara, ) is Morocco's longest river, at . It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini Ri ...

Geography

The Dadès River rises in the

High Atlas The High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas, is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of the Atlas Mountains. The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moro ...

and then turns south crossing through the Dadès Gorges, then westward between the High Atlas and

Anti-Atlas The Anti-Atlas, 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 Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heig ...

mountain ranges. The river finally meets the Ouarzazate River, which then enters

. Dades Gorge is easily accessible by taxi from nearby Tinerhir. The scenery is significant with views of interesting rock formations. The valley itself is made lush and green by the river, while the surrounding area is rocky desert. There are simple communities still living here in traditional houses. Women can be seen washing laundry in the river and laying it to dry on the surrounding bushes.

Hydrology

Flow rate of the Dadès River is highly seasonal with peak flows in the January to April period following the high precipitation and ensuing snowmelt. The water quality is alkaline, and summer water temperatures are in the range of 23 to 28 degrees Celsius. Electrical conductivity of the water is relatively high.C. Michael Hogan, ''Quality of Surface Waters in Morocco'', Lumina Technologies, October, 2006

References

External links

Personal website with travel photos and video from a trip to the Todra and Dades Gorges
Rivers of Morocco Atlas Mountains {{Morocco-river-stub