Chemama is the name of the region along the Northern bank of the

Senegal River The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length mark ...

, in

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

: a fertile band of land extending sixteen to thirty-two kilometers north of the river and containing alluvial soil. It is the only agricultural region in the country. The Chemama region has a rainy season that stretches from May to September. The region's average annual precipitation ranges from 300 to 600 mm (12 to 24 inches) per year. The population in this region is a potentially volatile mixture of ethnic

Maures The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

from the

n heartland and of Black African peoples linked to the nations to the south. The cities of

Rosso Rosso is the major city of south-western Mauritania and capital of Trarza Region, Trarza region. It is situated on the Senegal River at the head of the river zone allowing year-round navigation. The town is 204 km south of the capital Nouakc ...

and Kaedi are among the largest settlements. During the colonial era, there would be periodic raids by Maures on the towns of the region. The region became the center of ethnic conflict once again during the late 1980s, with significant displacement of the black population into neighboring Senegal in 1989.

References

Library of Congress on Chemama
Regions of Africa Geography of Mauritania {{Mauritania-geo-stub