Draa River fleuve du Draa (French) Río Draa (Spanish)
Course of the Draa [4][dead link]
Native name	Asif en Dra (Berber languages) ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⵏ ⴷⵔⴰ (Berber languages) واد درعة (Moroccan Arabic)
Location
Countries	Morocco
Physical characteristics
Source	Dadès River
2nd source	Imini River
Mouth	Atlantic
Length	1100km
Basin features
Progression	Southeast
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Embouchure de l'oued Dr'a
Designated	15 January 2005
Reference no.	1477[1]
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Moyenne Dr'a
Designated	15 January 2005
Reference no.	1482[2]

Dra is also the abbreviation for the constellation Draco.

The Draa (Berber languages: Asif en Dra, ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⴻⵏ ⴷⵔⴰ, Moroccan Arabic: واد درعة, romanized: wad dərʿa; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara) is Morocco's longest river, at 1,100 kilometres (680 mi). It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini River. It flows from the High Atlas mountains, initially south-eastward to Tagounite, and from Tagounite mostly westwards to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean somewhat north of Tan-Tan. In 1971, the (El) Mansour Eddahabi dam was constructed to service the regional capital of Ouarzazate and to regulate the flow of the Draa. Most of the year the part of the Draa after Tagounite falls dry.

In the first half of the 20th century, the lowest course of the Draa marked the boundary between the French protectorate of Morocco and the area under Spanish rule.

The valley contains the Fezouata formations, which are Burgess shale-type deposits dating to the Lower Ordovician, filling an important preservational window between the common Cambrian lagerstätten and the Late Ordovician Soom shale.^[3] In the fossilized fauna were numerous organisms previously thought to have died out after the mid-Cambrian.^[4]

History

Prehistory

From all main periods of the prehistory of the Sahara rock-engravings and rock-paintings have been found. Foum Chenna (Tinzouline), Aït Ouaazik (Asguine Tarna, Tazzarine), and Tiouririne e Tisguinine (Zagora) are amongst the best known sites in the Draa region.^{[citation needed]}

Before 1054

^[5][6]

The Draa River was also well known to the ancient Romans. It figures on the first world map in history made by Ptolemy (90-168 AD).

Almoravids

^[7]

Saadi

^[8][9]

Alaouites

^[10]

20th century

Kasbahs

The valley of the Draa has numerous kasbahs.

Agriculture

Language

Two languages are spoken in the area: a local variety of Colloquial Arabic which is closely related to Hassaniya, and Shilha or Tashelhiyt, a Berber language.

Oases

The Upper Draa River valley, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) long, consists of six stretches of oases/palm groves from north to south:

• The Mezguita oasis, with the Agdz and Auriz and south of it the Tamsikht dam
• The oasis of Tinzouline, with Ouled Lagraier, Tinzouline, Ouled Yaoub and a dam south of it
• The Ternata oasis with Zagora
• The Fezouata oasis with Tamegroute and south of it the Azagha dam
• The Ktaoua oasis (English Ktawa) with Tagounite, Blida, Tiraf and the Bounou dam south of it
• The oasis of Mhamid el Ghuzlan with Mhamid el Ghuzlan

Ksour

in the Mezguita

in Tinzouline

in Ternata

in the Fezouata

in the Ktaoua/Ktwawa

This is the southern stretch of the valley between the Azagha and the Bounou dam near Tagounite. There are 55 villages, mostly consisting of ksour (plural of ksar):

Source : Recensement général du Maroc, 1994 (Recensement général de la population et de l'habitat (RGPH, Haut-Commissariat au Plan du Royaume du Maroc (HCP), septembre 1994)).

Exploration

The Draa has attracted the attention of a number of notable explorers including Frenchman Charles de Foucauld who travelled throughout Morocco disguised as a Jewish merchant in the 1800s, Jeffrey Tayler who wrote a book about his experiences and most recently Scottish Adventurer, Alice Morrison, who became the first woman to walk the entire length of the Draa in 2019.