Natural Regions. – The nature and the relief of the soil, the climate and the vegetation combine in various ways, to determine in Morocco a certain number of natural regions, well characterized, although the transition from one to the other occurs by gradual changes. In the coastal massifs the following natural regions can be distinguished: the country of the Yebala, from Tangier to Badés; the Rif, from Badés to Melilla; the Garet, from Melilla to Moulouya. In the western Moroccan plains, the Gharb is distinguished, from Tangier to Sebou; the Fez region; the Taza corridor, which extends as far as Algeria in the plains of Tafrata and Angad; beyond the region of the Zaer and the Zemmour, which creeps like a wedge between northern Morocco and southern Morocco, are the plans of the Houz, extending from Rabat to Mogador and Morocco to the foot of the Atlas. Then come the great chains of the Atlas, Middle Atlas, High Atlas and Anti Atlas, which enclose the Sous region, then the oases of Todra, Gheris, Ferkla, Tafilelt and Dra. Two other natural regions are the Moulouya valley and the Dahra, which is the beginning of the steppes of the province of Oran. Of these various regions the most interesting are those bordering the Atlantic, the Gharb, the Houz and the Sous. which is the principle of the steppes of the province of Oran. Of these various regions the most interesting are those bordering the Atlantic, the Gharb, the Houz and the Sous. which is the principle of the steppes of the province of Oran. Of these various regions the most interesting are those bordering the Atlantic, the Gharb, the Houz and the Sous.
D statistical data both on the population. – Before the French protectorate it was not at all possible to know, even approximately, the total population of Morocco. Extremely divergent figures were given: some authors attributed 9, 15 and even 30 million residents to the sheriff’s empire; travelers limited themselves to talking about 7 million. Now we have more exact information; three censuses of the population of the French area of Morocco were made, in 1921, 1926 and 1931. Although these estimates are still approximate, as far as the indigenous people of the countryside are concerned, the results obtained can be considered almost exact. According to the 1931 census, the total civilian population of the French area of Morocco is 5,364,809, of which 5,192,328 indigenous and 172,481 Europeans. The indigenous population of the subdued area counts for 4,709,229 residents and that of the area not subjected is estimated to be around 483,099 residents There are 5,067,743 Muslims and 124,585 Israelites. As for the Spanish area, according to data collected by the Spanish Indigenous Affairs Service, its population is 551,000 residents, to which must be added about 130,000 Europeans, including those in the Tangier area. The total population of Morocco would therefore be around 6 million residents.
Leaving aside the old Spanish presidios (Melilla, Ceuta, etc.), in 1907 there were just 5000 Europeans in Morocco, of which 4000 in Tangier, while the region that now forms the French protectorate had only a few hundred. In 1911 the French area already counted more than 10,000 Europeans; the figure rose to 62,000 in 1911, to 105,000 in 1926 and to 172,481 according to the 1931 census; of these, 128,177 French (115,628 French citizens, 11,683 French subjects, 866 French proteges). There are also 44,304 foreigners, of which 22,684 Spaniards, 12,602 Italians and 9018 of different nationalities. In the Spanish area the Europeans are almost all Spaniards; in the Tangier area they are divided into 11,000 Spaniards, 2,000 French and 2,000 of different nationalities. For Morocco 1997, please check aristmarketing.com.
Hydrography. – The general arrangement of the relief and above all the greater altitude of the ranges mean that there are more important rivers in Morocco than those of the rest of Barbary. Among these rivers and uidians some carry their waters to the Atlantic, others to the Mediterranean, and still others descend towards the Saharan depression. In the north-west the two main rivers are the Loukkos and the Sebou (v.). The Loukkos flows into the well-watered region of Xauen and Ouezzane; from Alcázarquivir onwards it flows in the plain and is flanked by marshes up to the mouth. The Sebou is, with the Oum er-Rebia, the most important river in Barbary and originates in the heart of the Middle Atlas, about 120 km away. as the crow flies from Fez.
While the Sebou, at least in its lower course, is a plain river, the Bou-Regreg and the Oum er-Rebia (v.) Are plateau rivers, deeply embedded in the meseta. The Bou-Regreg, although it receives the waters of the Oued Grou and the Oued Korifla, has a very weak flow; the wide estuary, where it ends between Rabat and Salé, is fed by the tide more than by the waters of the river. The Oum er-Rebia, on the other hand, is the most important river in Morocco, even higher than the Sebou.
The Oued Tensift and the Oued Sous, one to the North. and the other to the S. of the High Atlas, are much poorer; of all the streams of the High Atlas, only the Reraya, the Ourika and the Nfis still have some water (less than 1 mc.) at the end of the summer: the structure of the mountain, the conditions of the runoff, the infiltrations into the subsoil, which feed the khottaras of the Moroccan plain, the evaporation and above all the influence of the hot winds sufficiently explain this scarcity of water.
As for properly Saharan watercourses, only the Oued Dra reaches the sea after a long journey in desert regions, but only its upper course, called Oued Dadès, carries water permanently; as it moves away from the mountains, the water becomes intermittent. The Oued Ziz, despite the tribute that the Oued Gheris brings to it, does not reach beyond Taouz and only by exception reaches the Sebkha ed-Daoum. Finally, the Guir and its tributary the Oued Haīber ran continuously only as far as Bou Denib; only in time of flood does the waters reach the Bahariat, an area of expansion of the river.
On the Mediterranean side, the structure of the region, which has large mountain ranges parallel to the sea, is generally an obstacle to the formation of large river basins. However, some more important watercourses, such as the Moulouya, push their head beyond the coastal massifs, up to the plateaus of the interior.
