The Moulouya River (

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

: ''iɣẓer en Melwect'', ) 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 ...

. Its sources are located in the Ayashi mountain in the

Middle Atlas The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵚ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous regio ...

. It empties into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

near

Saïdia Saïdia (; ''Ajrud''), known as the ''"Blue Pearl"'', is a coastal town in northeastern Morocco. It is located in the Berkane Province in the north of Beni Znassen region, lying in the adjacent metropolitan area of Berkane itself, along the Me ...

, in northeast Morocco. Water level in the river often fluctuates. The river is used for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

and is dammed by the

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

and Mohamed V Dams.

History

Before French colonisation, the Moulouya River was considered as the border between

Regency of Algiers The Regency of Algiers was an Early modern period, early modern semi-independent Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman province and nominal Tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, vassal state on the Barbary Coast of North Afr ...

and the dynasties that controlled Morocco. A

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

between the Algerians and the Alawites took place in 1692 at the ford of this river. The Romans called this river ''

Malva ''Malva'' is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temp ...

'' and '' Mulucha''. In medieval British pseudo-history, it was mentioned as a location along the route supposedly travelled by the ancestors of the Scotti, and by

Brutus of Troy Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a mythical British king. He is described as a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British legend as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears ...

. The Moulouya River formed the eastern border of the kingdom of

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean in the ...

since King

Bocchus I Bocchus, often referred to as Bocchus I for clarity, was king of Mauretania from – 80 BCE. He was father-in-law to the Numidian king Jugurtha, with whom he initially allied against the Romans in the Jugurthine War, a lengthy and indecisive co ...

, and more recently of the Rif Republic in the 1920s, a small part of Morocco containing important cities like Saïdia and

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

lying to the east, between the Moulouya and the border with Algeria. Until 1956 the river also formed the eastern border of the

Spanish Protectorate of Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...

Ecology

In August 2011 fish were killed by pollutants in the Moulouya River and local residents feared for their crops and livestock.

References

External links

* Rivers of Morocco Ramsar sites in Morocco {{Morocco-river-stub