At 172,402 sq.mi (446,550 km²), Morocco is the
fifty-seventh largest country in the world (after Uzbekistan). It is
comparable in size to Iraq, and is somewhat larger than the US state
of California. Algeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast
though the border between the two countries has been closed since
1994. There are also four Spanish enclaves on the Mediterranean
coast: Ceuta, Melilla, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Peñón de
Alhucemas, and the Chafarinas islands, as well as the disputed islet
Perejil. Off the Atlantic coast the Canary Islands belong to Spain,
whereas Madeira to the north is Portuguese. To the north, Morocco is
bordered by and controls part of the Strait of Gibraltar, giving it
power over the waterways in and out of the Mediterranean sea. The
Rif mountains occupy the region bordering the Mediterranean from the
north-west to the north-east. The Atlas Mountains run down the
backbone of the country, from the south west to the north east. Most
of the south east portion of the country is in the Sahara Desert and
as such is generally sparsely populated and unproductive
economically. Most of the population lives to the north of these
mountains, while to the south is the desert. To the south, lies the
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco
in 1975 (see Green March). Morocco claims that the Western Sahara is
part of its territory and refers to that as its Southern Provinces.
Morocco's capital city is Rabat; its largest city is its main port,
Casablanca.
Other cities include Agadir, Essaouira, Fes, Marrakech, Meknes,
Mohammadia, Oujda, Ouarzazat, Safi, Salè, Tangier and Tétouan.
Satellite image of a dust plume off the coast of Morocco.
The climate is Mediterranean, which becomes more extreme towards the
interior regions where it is mountainous. The terrain is such that
the coastal plains are rich and accordingly, they comprise the
backbone for agriculture. Forests cover about 12% of the land while
arable land accounts for 18%. 5% is irrigated.
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