TAOUNATE

town, provincial capital, and province (established 1978), Centre Nord region, northern Morocco. The town is a local market centre situated on the southern slopes of the Rif Mountains. It is located on a plateau overlooking the valley of the Oued Sra (Sra River), near the Gargara gorges. Taounate province, with an area of 2,156 sq mi (5,585 sq km), is bounded by the provinces of Chaouen and al-Hocema (north), Taza (east), Fs (south), and Kenitra (west). It is generally mountainous, and cereals (mostly wheat) and cattle are intensively raised at lower elevations. Fruits (including figs, olives, cherries, apples, and pears) are grown in the well-watered mountain valleys that receive about 30 in. (750 mm) of rainfall annually. Higher elevations are covered with commercially exploited cedars and cork oaks. Taounate province is inhabited mostly by Berbers; the more isolated groups speak only Riff, a Berber dialect, and the less isolated groups are generally bilingual, speaking both Riff and Arabic. The Idris I dam (completed 1973), one of Morocco's largest dams, is located in the southern part of the province and is part of an extensive irrigation project in the valley of the Oued (river) Sebou. Pop. (1971) town, 3,101; (1981 est.) province, 591,700.