Ourika River

Ourika River (Arabic: نهر أوريكا‎) (French: Oued Ourika) is a river in Morocco, at 31.4°N 7.783333°W / 31.4; -7.783333. It rises in the High Atlas and flows through the Ourika Valley, 30 km from Marrakech.

Ourika River, in the Ourika Valley, Morocco

Natural history

A number of interesting plants have been recorded in this valley beginning in the late 19th century including Fraxinus dimorpha.[1] This valley is the sole location within the High Atlas Range where the endangered primate Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus is known to occur; this primate is found in the Middle Atlas and a few disjunctive populations in Algeria and Gibraltar.[2]

Ourika Valley, due to its many waterfalls and several attractions, is a very popular Ourika day trip from Marrakech.

The region is inhabited by Berber people who practice a traditional way of life. Despite its proximity to Marrakech, it is still considered relatively "unspoiled".

  • Salt production in Ourika Valley
  • Ourika river itself
  • Drying carpets at a Berber village factory in Ourika Valley.

Notes
  1. Joseph Dalton Hooker, John Ball and George Maw, 1878.
  2. C. Michael Hogan, 2008.
gollark: It continuously hovers mildly.
gollark: It edits time, or something.
gollark: Have you not heard of the TORUS™?
gollark: hmm. what if unopenable box + retrocausality torus?
gollark: Accidentally launched into space by an extremey minor change 58 years ago.

References
  • C. Michael Hogan (2008). Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus. Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg.
  • Joseph Dalton Hooker, John Ball and George Maw (1878). Journal of a Tour in Marocco and the Great Atlas. Macmillan and Company.


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