Tadla plain
Covering an area of about 3600 square kilometers comprehensive Tadla-level is a slightly from west to east rising wave, but very fertile agricultural area in the region Beni Mellal-Khénifra the southern center of Morocco .
geography
The Tadla plain, which is mostly at heights between approx. 350 and 550 m , is bounded in the south and east by the mountains of the Middle Atlas ; The Oum er-Rbia , one of the most important year-round rivers in Morocco , also flows here . In the north and west, the phosphate mining areas of Khouribga and the historically significant landscape of the Chaouia border. Most of the annual precipitation falls in the winter half-year and is usually between 450 and 550 mm; the average daytime temperature is around 15–20 ° C in winter and around 30 to 35 ° C in summer; at night only about 5 ° C are often reached.
- places
Numerous villages and small towns form regional settlement centers. The most important cities such as Beni Mellal , Kasba Tadla , Bejaâd and Oued Zem lie on the edge of the Tadla plain; only the city of Fkih Ben Salah is roughly in the center.
economy
In earlier times the Tadla Plain was mainly used for the self-sufficiency of its inhabitants - larger markets were rare or - like Marrakech - too far away; there were no other cities. However, the area was marked by constant rivalries between wandering nomads and settled farmers; both groups claim an Arabic origin. Only after the construction of irrigation canals and roads during the time of the French protectorate (1912–1956) did the larger towns grow into cities and the region experienced an enormous economic and demographic boom. Today the few remaining nomads graze their flocks of sheep and goats mainly in the mostly rocky fringes; Cattle live in stables. The core area, which is largely irrigated, is characterized by extensive fields (wheat, barley, sugar beet etc.) and plantations (oranges, olives, apricots etc.)
history
In the 16th century, the increasingly powerful religious Cherkaoui brotherhood arose in Boujad , whose activities could only be controlled with difficulty by the Sultan's central government . In the 17th century, Sultan Mulai Ismail founded the first kasbahs on the outskirts of the cities of Beni Mellal and Kasba Tadla. After the end of French colonial rule (1956), the Moroccan central government took power; Due to the immigration of many Berber families from the mountain regions of the Middle and High Atlas , the population of the Tadla plain has increased tenfold since then.
See also
- Doukkala plane
- Gharb plain
- Souss plain