Souss-Massa () is one of the twelve regions of

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 ...

. It covers an area of 51,642 km² and had a population of 2,676,847 as of the

2014 Moroccan census The 2014 Moroccan census was held in Morocco between 1 September and 20 September 2014. The census was conducted by the High Planning Commission.Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...

Geography

Souss-Massa borders the regions of

Marrakesh-Safi Marrakesh-Safi () is one of the twelve regions of Morocco.Jounaux.ma
Its popul ...

to the north, Drâa-Tafilalet to the northeast and

Guelmim-Oued Noun Guelmim-Oued Noun () is one of the twelve regions of Morocco, regions of Morocco. The southeastern part of the region is located in the disputed territory of Western Sahara and a small strip of land in this area is administered by the Sahrawi A ...

to the southwest. To the southeast is

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Tindouf Province Tindouf, also written Tinduf (), is the westernmost province of Algeria, having a population of 58,193 as of the 2008 census (not including the Sahrawi refugees at the Sahrawi refugee camps). Its population in reality could be as high as 160,00 ...

. The region faces 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 ...

on its western side: much of the coast is protected by

Souss-Massa National Park The Souss-Massa National Park (''Parc National de Souss-Massa'') is a 33,800 hectare national park on the Atlantic coast of Morocco which was created in 1991. It lies between Agadir to the north and Sidi Ifni to the south. The estuary of the ...

. The interior of the region is dominated by the Anti-Atlas

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

range, while the Sous River runs across the northern part of the region, in the valley between the Anti-Atlas and the High Atlas. The capital Agadir is located at the mouth of the Sous. Toubkal National Park extends into the northeastern corner of the region.

Climate

Three factors influence the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the region: the topography, the oceanic coastline, and the Sahara Desert. In the northern part, dominated by the Atlas Mountains, the climate shifts from humid to semi-arid as one moves towards the plain. This plain, which stretches from the base of the Atlas and includes the basins of the Souss and Massa rivers, experiences an arid climate despite its broad exposure to the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, the southern and southeastern sections of the region, which lie on the northern edge of the Sahara, have a desert climate. In the Souss plain, average precipitation over the last decade has been 2503 mm, while the high plateaus receive between 350 and 400 mm. The southern part of the region, adjacent to the Sahara, is much drier, but since 2005, the desert has been experiencing a greening trend due to significant winter rains, especially in 2009-2010.

History

Souss-Massa was formed in September 2015 by merging Tata Province, formerly part of Guelmim-Es Semara region, with five provinces of the former Souss-Massa-Drâa region.

Government

of the RNI was elected as the regional council's first president on 14 September 2015. He had previously headed the Souss-Massa-Drâa regional council. Zineb El Adaoui was appointed governor (''wali'') of the region on 13 October 2015. He was succeeded by Ahmed Hajji in 2017. The current wali of the region since 2023 is Said Amzazi.

Subdivisions

Souss-Massa comprises two prefectures and four provinces: * Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane Prefecture * Chtouka-Aït Baha Province * Inezgane-Aït Melloul Prefecture * Taroudannt Province * Tata Province * Tiznit Province

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is a major economic activity in the Sous and Massa river basins located in the northwestern part of the region. Industries related to the processing of agricultural and

seafood products Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

are also concentrated in the same area. Agadir is an important fishing and tourist port. Tiznit is known for its traditional silverwork.

Infrastructure

The A7 motorway connects Agadir with

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

and

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

. The major north–south road through the region is the N1, while the N10 runs east–west in the Sous River valley, connecting Agadir to

Taroudant Taroudant (, ) is a city in the Sous in southwestern Morocco. It is situated east of Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and south of Marrakesh. Today, it is a small market town and a tourist destination. History The Almoravids occupied the town ...

and

Ouarzazate Ouarzazate (; , ), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Drâa-Tafilalet, south-central Morocco. Ouarzazate is a primary tourist destination in Morocco during the holidays, as well as ...

. Agadir is a major port city in Morocco and also has an international airport.

References

{{Regions of Morocco