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Morocco: Northern Morocco
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The popular, but wholly incomplete, picture of Morocco is of a hot sand pit which starts at the overcrowded beaches of Agadir and extends to the dunes of the Sahara Desert. A truer and more honest picture would include a description of the Northern half of Morocco which is made up of vast expanses of fertile agricultural lands, forests, productive vineyards and lush, green grazing meadows. Other surprises include outstanding snow - skiing near Marrakech; superb Golf courses and a summer climate that is similar to most Mediterranean resorts.
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Morocco has the broadest plains and the highest mountains in North Africa. The country has four main natural regions. An area of highlands, called Er Rif, runs parallel to the Mediterranean coast in the north, from Tangier to the Algerian border. Er Rif forms a barrier, preventing easy access to the coast from central Morocco. The Atlas Mountains, the second region, extend across the center of the country from the southwest to the northeast. The Taza Depression lies between Er Rif and the Atlas Mountains, allowing passage across the northern interior of Morocco into Algeria.
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Located in northern Africa, Morocco borders the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Mauritania, and just across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain. The terrain varies from sea level along the coast where surfing and windsurfing are popular, to the High Atlas Mountains, rising to the high point of Jebel Toubkal at 4,165 m, a popular trek. Casablanca, Marrakesh, Tangier, Rabat, Fès .... explore these historic and fascinating Moroccan cities. Buy a Morocco travel book and map to start dreaming of your visit.
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Morocco became a French protectorate by the signing of the Treaty of Fez on March 30, 1912. It remained a Kingdom until it achieved independence in 1956. It then recovered Tangier, formerly an international city. The northern area of Morocco was under a Spanish protectorate concurrently. Morocco annexed Western Sahara in the 1970s, which had been a colony under the Spaniards since the 19th century. Previous to that it had been an area of Moroccan influence, but this annexation has not been recognized by any nation.
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Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) has been repeatedly criticized by the international community. In the 1970s, tens of thousands of Moroccans crossed the border into Spanish Sahara to back their government's contention that the northern part of the territory was historically part of Morocco. Spain, which had controlled the territory since 1912, withdrew in 1976, creating a power vacuum that was filled by Morocco in the north and Mauritania in the south. When Mauritania withdrew in Aug. 1979, Morocco overran the remainder of the territory. A rebel group, the Polisario Front, has fought against Morocco since 1976 for the independence of Western Sahara on behalf of the indigenous Saharawis. The Polisario and Morocco agreed in Sept. 1991 to a UN-negotiated cease-fire, which was contingent on a referendum regarding independence.
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Morocco is located in the northwestern corner of Africa. Morocco is slightly larger in area than California, and its territory has three different regions. The northern coast along the Mediterranean Sea is made up of fertile land that rises to elevations of about 8,000 feet (2,400 meters). The Atlas Mountains run between the Atlantic coast in the southwest to the Mediterranean Sea in the northeast. Finally, the semiarid area in the south and east known as the Western Sahara connects Morocco with the vast African Sahara Desert.
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Northern Morocco