The Sebou (
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 ...
: Asif en Sbu, ) is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in northern Morocco. At its source in the
Middle Atlas mountains it is known as the Guigou River (Berber: Asif n Gigu). The river is 496 kilometers long and has an average water flow of 137 m
3/s, which makes it the largest North African river by volume. It passes near
Fes, the
second largest city in Morocco, and discharges to the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
at
Mehdya. Sebou is navigable for only 16 km as far as the city of
Kenitra, which has the only
river port in Morocco. Its most important tributaries are the
Ouergha River,
Baht River and
Inaouen River. The river supports
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 ...
in Morocco's most fertile region: the
Gharb.
History
Sebou was known in antiquity as Sububus. Pliny the Elder states that it was "magnificus et navigabilis" (grand and navigable), flowing near the towns of
Banasa (near the city of
Mechra Bel Ksiri) and
Thamusida.
There is scant historical reference to the Sebou being used for navigation after the
Islamic conquest; nevertheless, its
river mouth was an important harbor and shipyard in the
Almohad period.
In 1669–1670, the
Alaouite sultan
Moulay Rashid built a bridge over the river near Fes which has been preserved today.
During the precolonial period, the Sebou was renowned for its
Twait shad which was highly prized by the people of
Fez, but due to pollution the shad became extinct on the Sebou.
In the first years of the
French protectorate an expedition successfully navigated the Sebou from Sidi Ali Ben Sliman to the city of Fez on a small steam boat Le Dantec.
Environmental issues
A number of
water pollutants enter the Sebou River, notably including
pesticide
Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...
s and fertilisers from agricultural
runoff and untreated
sewage
Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...
from towns along the river.
[Thieme, Michele & Abell, Robin & Stiassny, Melanie & Skelton, Paul. (2005). ''Freshwater Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment''. Bibliovault OAI Repository, the University of Chicago Press. 1–431.]
See also
*
Idriss I (dam)
References
Rivers of Morocco
{{Morocco-river-stub