Destination Morocco

Geography Morocco
 

Location:

Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara

Geographic coordinates:

32 00 N, 5 00 W

Area:

Total: 446,550 sq km
land: 446,300 sq km
water: 250 sq km

Area - comparative:

Slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:

Total: 2,017.9 km
border countries: Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km, Spain (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Spain (Melilla) 9.6 km

Coastline:

1,835 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:

Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior

Terrain:

Northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains

Elevation extremes:

Lowest point: Sebkha Tah -55 m
highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m

Natural resources:

Phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt

Land use:

Arable land: 19.61%
Permanent crops: 2.17%
Other: 78.22% (2001)

Irrigated land:

12,910 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:

Northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:

Land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage; siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters

Environment - international agreements:

Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

Geography - note:

Strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar