Bouarfa (Morocco)
| Bouarfa بوعرفة ⴱⵓⵄⴰⵔⴼⴰ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Oriental | ||||
| Province : | Figuig | ||||
| Coordinates | 32 ° 32 ′ N , 1 ° 58 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 28,946 (2014) | ||||
| Area : | 6.37 km² | ||||
| Population density : | 4,544 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| Height : | 1150 m | ||||
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Bouarfa ( Arabic بوعرفة, Central Atlas Tamazight ⴱⵓⵄⴰⵔⴼⴰ Buɛarfa ) is the capital of the Figuig province in the Oriental region in the extreme south-east of Morocco . The city has about 30,000 inhabitants.
Location and climate
Bouarfa is located in a stone desert landscape ( hammada ), bounded to the north by mountains (including the approx. 1872 m high Jbel Bouarfa ), about 110 km (driving distance) northwest of the oasis town of Figuig , which gave the province its name, or about 300 km east of Errachidia at an altitude of approx. 1150 m . The climate is dry and warm; Rain (approx. 190 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.
population
| year | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 |
| Residents | 19,631 | 25,947 | 28,946 |
Most of the inhabitants are of Arab origin from the Bni Guil tribe . In the second half of the 20th century, however, many Berbers also immigrated. Colloquial languages are Tarifit and Moroccan Arabic plus French and Tamazight .
Economy and history
The French already began mining manganese ores here ; the mine (Sundage) located outside of the village was closed after the independence of Morocco (1956). During the Protectorate, a camp for political prisoners, later also for Moroccan Jews, was set up here, which was converted into a prison camp for Germans after the invasion of the armies of the Alliance under the leadership of the Americans in 1942 ( Operation Torch ).
Attractions
The largely newly built city has no historically or culturally significant sights.
Web links
- Bouarfa at Geonames
- Bouarfa - photos + brief information (LookLex, English)