Zag (Morocco)
Zag الزاك ⴰⵥⴰⴳ |
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Basic data | ||||
State : | Morocco | |||
Region : | Guelmim-Oued Noun | |||
Province : | Assa-zag | |||
Coordinates | 28 ° 1 ′ N , 9 ° 19 ′ W | |||
Residents : | 12,763 (2014) | |||
Area : | 3.3 km² | |||
Population density : | 3,868 inhabitants per km² | |||
Height : | 405 m | |||
Zag - the townscape |
Zag ( Arabic الزاك, DMG az-Zāk ; Tamazight ⴰⵥⴰⴳ) is a 15,000 inhabitants town in the province of Assa-Zag in the region Guelmim-Oued Noun in the southeast of Morocco .
Location and climate
The small town of Zag is located in the extreme south-east of Morocco on the R103 at an altitude of approx. 405 m . The neighboring town of Assa, which is only slightly larger, is located about 80 km to the north. The climate is desert-like; the extremely sparse rain (approx. 60 mm / year) falls almost exclusively in the winter half-year.
population
year | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 |
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Residents | 2,759 | 12,653 | 12,763 |
The population consists mainly of Berbers who immigrated in the last decades of the 20th century . They speak the regional Berber dialect , Moroccan Arabic , French and some English.
economy
The small town primarily serves as a rest stop for people and heavy goods vehicles on the country road.
history
Zag was a small oasis in the otherwise almost deserted south of Morocco. Only after the independence of Morocco (1956) did the place gain a certain importance due to its proximity to the politically controversial Western Sahara regions and to Algeria .
Others
The meteorite NWA 3009 was found near the city in 2000 .