Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

is a territory in Northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, bordered by the North

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 ...

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 ...

proper,

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

(

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 ...

region), and Mauritania.

Geographic coordinates The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various ...

Size

''Total:'' , about the size of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

:''land:'' :''water:'' * Coastline: * Land boundaries: –

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

: , Mauritania: ,

: *

Saguia el-Hamra Saguia el-Hamra ( es, Saguía el Hamra, ar, الساقية الحمراء, lit=Red Canal, translit=al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a) was, with Río de Oro, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. Its name ...

is the northern third with the city

El Aaiún Laâyoune ( , also , ) or El Aaiún ( , ; Hassaniya Arabic: , romanized: ; ber, ⵍⵄⵢⵓⵏ, Leɛyun; ar, label=Modern Standard Arabic, Literary Arabic, العيون, al-ʿUyūn/el-ʿUyūn, lit=The Spring (hydrology), Springs) is the la ...

. *

Río de Oro Río de Oro (Spanish for "Gold River"; , ''wādī-að-ðahab'', often transliterated as ''Oued Edhahab'') was, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it had been taken as ...

is the southern two-thirds (south of

Cape Bojador Cape Bojador ( ar, رأس بوجادور, trans. ''Rā's Būjādūr''; ber, ⴱⵓⵊⴷⵓⵔ, ''Bujdur''; Spanish and pt, Cabo Bojador; french: Cap Boujdour) is a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W ...

), with the city Dakhla. The peninsula in the extreme southwest, with the city of Lagouira, is called Ras

Nouadhibou Nouadhibou (; ar, نواذيبو, Nwādībū, Berber: Nwadibu, formerly in French: ) is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 118,000 inhabitants expanding to over 140,000 in the l ...

, Cabo Blanco, or Cap Blanc. The eastern side is part of Mauritania. Maritime claims: contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

Land

Terrain

The terrain is mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast. Elevation extremes: :''Lowest point:'' Sebjet Tah, , a depression in the northwest part of Western Sahara straddling the Morocco border :''Highest point:'' Unnamed elevation, , east of Awsard (Aousserd)Western Sahara High Point,Peakbagger.com

Natural resources

Phosphates, iron ore, and fishing resources on

coast

Land use

''Arable land:'' 0.02% *''Permanent crops:'' 0% *''Other:'' 99.98% (2005) Irrigated land: N/A

Natural hazards

Hot, dry, dust/sand-laden

sirocco Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from ...

wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility. Flash flooding occurs during spring months.

Environment

Climate

Western Sahara has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BWh''). Annual average rainfall is below everywhere. Along the Atlantic coast, averages high and low temperatures are constant and very moderated throughout the year because cool offshore ocean currents considerably cool off the climate, especially during the day. However, summertime is long and extremely hot and wintertime is short and very warm to truly hot further in the interior, where cooling marine influences aren't felt anymore. Average high temperatures exceed in summer during a prolonged period of time but can reach as high as or even more in places such as

Smara Smara ( ar, السمارة ''as-Samāra'', also romanized ''Semara''; es, Esmara) is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Sm ...

Tichla Tichla is a small town in the Western Sahara under the de-facto control of Morocco, which considers it as part of rural commune Aousserd Province in the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab ( ar, الداخلة - وادي الذهب ...

Bir Gandus Bir Gandus or Bir Gandouz ( ar, بئر كندوز , Moroccan Arabic: بير گندوز, Berber languages, Berber: Bir Genduz, es, Bir Ganduz) is a village in Western Sahara controlled by Morocco. As a Subdivisions of Morocco, rural commune of Mo ...

Bir Anzarane Bir Anzarane is a town in the disputed area of Western Sahara. It is administered by Morocco as a rural commune in Oued Ed-Dahab Province Oued Ed-Dahab ( ar, إقليم وادي الذهب) is a province in the Moroccan economic region of Dakhl ...

, Aghouinite,

Aousserd Aousserd, Ausert or Auserd is a small town and rural commune in Aousserd Province of the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region of Western Sahara, disputed between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and under Moroccan control. The number of ...

and others. Average high temperatures exceed in winter but average low temperatures can drop to in some places. The sky is usually clear and bright throughout the year and sunny weather is the norm.

Current issues

Sparse water and lack of arable land.

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of

, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. * Northernmost points – the border with

* * Easternmost points – the northern section of the border with Mauritania/

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

** * Southernmost point – the southern tip of

Ras Nouadhibou Ras Nouadhibou ( ar, رأس نواذيبو) is a peninsula or headland divided by the border between Mauritania and Western Sahara on the African coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is internationally known as ''Cabo Blanco'' in Spanish or ''Cap Bl ...

(Cabo Blanco/Cap Blanc) * Westernmost point – Cape Dubouchage on Ras Nouadhibou ** ''Note: Western Sahara does not have a northernmost point, the border being formed by a

circle of latitude A circle of latitude or line of latitude on Earth is an abstract east–west small circle connecting all locations around Earth (ignoring elevation) at a given latitude coordinate line. Circles of latitude are often called parallels because ...

'' ** ''Note: Western Sahara does not have an easternmost point, the border being formed by a

meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

References

{{Geography of Africa