Merzouga (, ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in southeastern

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 ...

. The village is near the

Erg Chebbi Erg Chebbi () is one of Morocco's several ergs – large seas of dunes formed by wind-blown sand. It is located on the far western edge of the Sahara Desert. There are several other ergs in Morocco, such as Erg Chigaga near M'hamid. Descripti ...

dunes, one of the tallest in the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. It is about southeast of

Rissani Rissani () is a town in Errachidia Province in eastern Morocco, located near Erfoud. It is the closest town of significant size to the Erg Chebbi, the largest sand desert in Morocco. Its population in 2004 was 20,469. The mausoleum of Moulay Ali ...

, about from

Erfoud Erfoud (, Latn, ber, Arfud; ) is an oasis town in the Sahara Desert, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, eastern Morocco. It belongs to ait atta tribe, divided into several districts: Hay Salam, Hay Jdid, Hay Ziz, Hay el Bathaa, Hay Annahda, and Hay ...

and about from the Algerian border. Some of the other villages near the dunes are Hassilabied ( away), Tanamoust ( away), Takoujt ( away), Khamlia ( away), and Tisserdmine ( away).

is the closest city of significant size, at 41.9 km away. (26 mi).

History

Approximately 9,000 to 10,000 years ago, the region was likely a tropical jungle, coinciding with a period when the

Desert was characterized by abundant vegetation and

lakes A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

. Merzouga was an uninhabited

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...

. It also became a pilgrimage destination for the nomads of the Ait Atta tribes and eventually a tourist destination. During

French colonial rule The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...

, fortifications were built by troops of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

after the battles of Taflalet, which occurred between 1916 and 1932. On 26 May 2006, during the night, Merzouga experienced

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

s that caused severe damage to buildings, cars, and the traditional irrigation system. The flood left 1,200 people displaced and three dead. Animals also died in their collapsed stables. "The

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

damages were significant, with the destruction of 140 houses and hotels, deterioration of Taouz– Merzouga road and of the ONEP (National Agency for drinking water and sanitation) water supply pipe of Merzouga villages " Due to climate change, extreme weather events of flooding have been more commonplace. In 2024, the seasonal Yasmina Lake re-formed.

Gallery

File:Dunes de Merzouga.jpg File:Dunes-Leve soleil-Sunrise-Merzouga.JPG File:Merzouga sahara 01.jpg File:Merzouga desert camp.jpg File:Merzouga desert Erg Chebbi.jpg File:Erg Chebbi Dunes Camel LL.JPG File:Camels in Merzouga Desert.jpg

Environmental concerns

Merzouga faces several

environmental challenges Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

, particularly related to tourism and

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

. The increase in visitors has led to concerns about littering in the

dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

and improper waste disposal, which impacts the region's fragile

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. Local authorities have taken measures to regulate tourism activities, including closing unlicensed desert camps in 2019 due to concerns over waste disposal, water usage, and infrastructure sustainability. These closures sparked debate among local communities, as tourism is a significant part of the area's economy. The region has also experienced rare environmental events, such as unexpected flooding. In October 2024, heavy rainfall led to the formation of temporary lakes in normally dry areas, a phenomenon not observed in decades.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline Populated places in Errachidia Province Oases of Morocco

History

Gallery

Environmental concerns

See also

References

External links