Overview

Morocco, a country slightly larger than the state of California, is situated in northwestern Africa and is the African nation closest in location to Europe. It is bordered on the east by Algeria and to the south by Western Sahara. To its north is the Mediterranean Sea and to its west is the Atlantic Ocean. Morocco's two coasts are separated by the Strait of Gibraltar, a strategic point that guards entry to the Mediterranean from the west. Only 10 miles across the Strait to the north lies Spain. Morocco's total land area is 177,117 square miles (458,730 square kilometers), of which only 21 percent is farmable land. Two northeast-southwest mountain ranges, the Rif and the Atlas Mountains, bisect the country and occupy more than a third of its total area. Morocco's maximum north-south dimension is 825 miles, and its maximum east-west dimension is 475 miles. Its capital city is Rabat, on...