Tinghir City – Morocco
Tinghir or Tinerhir is a city south of the High Atlas and north of the Little Atlas in southeastern Morocco. Its name originally referred to the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, but its area has expanded to encompass surrounding villages and refers to the entire oasis.
Tinghir is an oasis about 30 kilometres (19 mi) long and about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide. The climate is arid subtropical: hot, dry winters in relation to altitude (1,430 metres (4,690 ft)). Tinghir is between Dades Gorge (1 hour by car) and Merzouga (2.5 hours) on the tourist trail for those on the Road to Desert.
The predominant ethnic group is Amazighs, and the city is at the centre of one of the most attractive oases in southern Morocco. Lush palm trees cover about 30 miles (48 km) on 500-to-1,500-metre (550 to 1,640 yd)-wide tracts along the Wadi Todgha. The palm oasis, dense and widespread, is irrigated by a network of pipes and irrigation canals.
The economy of Tinghir is based on agriculture, trade and tourism.
During the Mesozoic, the region was invaded by the sea, where thick deposits of sediments rich in marine fossils (particularly of the ammonitida class). The uplift of the Atlas Mountains (primarily during the Neogene) caused the withdrawal of the sea and the deformation of rocks into folds and faults. Wind and river erosion eventually shaped the desert landscape of limestone and clay. The Todgha River has widened these layers of rock, giving rise to canyons 300 metres (980 ft) high but in some places only 10 metres (33 ft) wide. The river widens, developing an oasis edged with the red ochre of the desert.
Visit the beautiful Todhra Gorge. The Todhra Gorge is also an excellent place for rock climbing.
