Dakhla

Dakhla lies on a peninsula that stretches 45 kilometres south-west, parallel to the coast, and is on average 4 kilometres wide.¹ Sheltered between it and the mainland lies the bay of Oued Eddahab, crossed by a main channel about 20 kilometres long and 8 to 22 metres deep.²

In 2024 the municipality of Dakhla had 165,463 inhabitants, Oued Ed-Dahab province 195,467 and the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region 219,965.³ No region of Morocco grew faster between 2014 and 2024, at an average of 4.4 per cent a year; 80.4 per cent of the inhabitants live in towns.⁴

Since 15 January 2005 the bay has been listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention; the site covers 61,010 hectares.⁵ The 37-kilometre bay is separated from the open Atlantic by a dune system. Its seagrass meadows of dwarf eelgrass provide habitat for more than 120 species of molluscs and 41 species of fish.⁶

The northern limit of the range of the Atlantic humpback dolphin lies here. The bay is also Morocco's second most important wintering area for waterbirds; between 1995 and 2000 almost 60,000 birds were counted, including Caspian terns, lesser black-backed gulls and ringed plovers.⁷ Fishing and tourism support the local economy, and protected and aquaculture zones are being prepared.⁸

The new island port in the bay went into operation in 2001. In 2012 it handled 370,000 tonnes of commercial goods and 215,000 tonnes from coastal fishing, mainly small pelagic fish.⁹ On land, a 270-hectare industrial zone belongs to the port, 13 hectares of it for an export free zone.¹⁰

Another port is being built 12 kilometres from the bay.¹¹ National road 1 links Dakhla with Laayoune to the north and Lagouira to the south; the airport lies about 9 kilometres from the port.¹²

At the Dakhla station mean daily maximum temperatures range from 22.3 degrees in February to 26.5 degrees in September. Rain is rare: on average only 31 millimetres fall in the whole year.¹³