Moulouya
Moulouya is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 33.79°, -3.54°
About Moulouya
The Moulouya River is a 520 km-long (320 mi) river in Morocco. Its sources are located in the Ayashi mountain in the Middle Atlas. It empties into the Mediterranean Sea near Saïdia, in northeast Morocco.
Water level in the river often fluctuates. The river is used for irrigation and is dammed by the Hassan II and Mohamed V Dams.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Moulouya River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Moulouya in Depth
History
The river was historically known as Malva (Anglicized: Malve), Malua, Malvam, Mulva, Mulucha, or Molochath flumen, the names possibly related to the Semitic root melach or malach, meaning "salt". Maurice Besnier suggested that the lower parts of the river were used for salt production, but no material confirmation has been found.
From the end of the fourth to the beginning of the third centuries BC, the Mulucha formed the boundary between the Kingdom of the Mauri to the west and the Kingdom of the Masaesylli to the east. Mentioned as Mulucha by Titus Livius (also known as Livy).
In the Historia Brittonum (c. 828) it appears as the River Malvam, along the legendary route of the Scoti from Egypt to Hispania.
Ecology
The Moulouya receives domestic wastewater from nearby populations and agricultural pollutants originating in the upper valley of its headwaters.
In mid-2011, thousands of fish were found dead along the river, prompting environmental groups to blame pollution from the nearby Sucrafor sugar refinery, part of the Cosumar group, which had previously faced similar accusations in the 1980s and 1990s. The North Moroccan Green Platform reported black, foul-smelling water near Zaio, and farmers said livestock died after drinking from the river.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Moulouya River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Moulouya: Key Facts
| Length | 520 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 50 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 50,000 km² |
| Source | Atlas Mountains |
| Mouth | Mediterranean Sea |
| Tributaries | Uadi Za |
Facts from Wikidata Q1146608 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Moulouya: Quick Answers
- Where is Moulouya?
- Moulouya is located in Morocco, at 33.7857° N, 3.5410° W.
- Are there dams on the Moulouya?
- No dam on the Moulouya is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.