Protected Area

Protected Area

Published on
2020 Oct 26
Countries
Morocco
Morocco

Mohamed V dam


Large dam lake on the Moulouya river occupying an arid and open valley, marked by numerous ravines, where the lake takes on a branched appearance. The slopes are covered by sparse steppe vegetation, with some eucalyptus plantations on the slopes. This site is located at an altitude of 218 m and was flooded in 1967, its maximum depth was 60 m and was gradually reduced due to siltation.

As a dam, this site plays a fundamental role in controlling the floods, which devastated the coastal plain in the Saidia region. The site is home to a beautiful tamarica grove and islands of land that constitute areas suitable for the reproduction of waterbirds. Some twenty species summer in the site with respectable numbers (700-800 shelternes casarca, 130 crested grebes, 80 Hansel terns, more than 400 avocets and, above all, more than 4,000 common coots). Most of these summer residents breed regularly on the site.