Youssoufia (Province)

Youssoufia Province in the Doukkala-Abda region

The approximately 3000 km² large and approx. 260,000 inhabitants counting province of Youssoufia ( Arabic إقليم اليوسفية, Taschelhit ⵍⵉⵡⵙⵓⴼⵉⵢⴰ ) has been part of the Moroccan region of Marrakech-Safi (previously Doukkala-Abda ) since 2015 . The capital of the province is the city of Youssoufia .

geography

location

The province of Youssoufia borders the province of Safi to the west, the province of Sidi Bennour to the north, the province of Rehamna to the northeast, the province of Marrakech to the east, the province of Chichaoua to the south and the province of Essaouira to the southwest .

landscape

The landscape profile is hilly with an average altitude of 300 to 400 m. Individual low mountain ranges reach a height of about 600 m.

climate

In the dry, semi-desert landscape, the climate of which is, however, largely influenced by the Atlantic, the maximum daily temperatures in summer usually reach 35 to 40 ° C; at night it cools down to 15 to 20 ° C. In winter, the maximum daily temperatures are around 25 to 30 ° C, at night the thermometer drops to values ​​around 5 to 15 ° C.

population

The majority of the population are Berbers, who mainly work in agriculture as well as small traders, taxi drivers, etc. Leading positions in business, trade and administration as well as in banking, health and education are in the hands of the Arab-born minority.

economy

The most important source of income in the province is the large-scale phosphate mining ; Processed into fertilizers, the end products are exported all over the world via the ports of Safi or Jorf Lasfar (near El Jadida ). Other areas are used for agriculture; tourism hardly plays a role.

history

In the absence of written records, the history of the province remains largely in the dark. However, it can be assumed that nomadic Berber tribes once lived here. The city of Youssoufia was only founded after the discovery of phosphate deposits by the French colonial rulers in 1931. The province of Youssoufia was only created in 2009 when it was separated from the province of Safi.

Attractions

Apart from the mausoleum and the burial mosque of Sidi Chiker , a marabout , there are no historically or culturally significant sights in the region. In the south-east of the province, a royal gazelle park was established in the 1990s, in which the animals originally native here, which had been exterminated in Morocco through hunting and displacement and had only survived in zoos, were released again. Another ecopark was set up at the nearby Lac Zima .

Web links

• Demographics Morocco 1994 + 2004
• Tourist sights