Ziz Gorges

A series of narrow gorges carved by the Ziz River in southeastern Morocco, forming part of the route between Errachidia and the Tafilalt oasis.

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Ziz River: A river in southeastern Morocco that flows through the High Atlas and the Tafilalt region. Its course carved the gorges and links them to Errachidia and Tafilalt.
Fluvial erosion: The wearing away and transport of rock and sediment by flowing water. This broad process explains how the Ziz cut a confined channel through rock.
National Route 13 (Morocco): A Moroccan highway connecting settlements in the country's southeast and crossing the Ziz gorge corridor. The road follows the river valley through the gorges between Errachidia and Tafilalt.
Ziz Valley: The river valley formed by the Ziz in southeastern Morocco, extending from the Atlas region toward Tafilalt. The gorges are a narrow section within this broader river landscape.
Tafilalt: A historic oasis region in southeastern Morocco, centered on the lower Ziz River. The gorges form part of the river corridor leading toward this oasis.
River terrace: A step-like landform beside a river, left when a former floodplain stands above the active channel. Terraces can record earlier Ziz River levels and episodes of valley incision.
Irrigation: The deliberate supply of water to land to support plant growth. Water from the Ziz system sustains cultivated land in the downstream oasis.
Hassan Addakhil Dam: A dam on the Ziz River near Errachidia, built to store water and regulate supply. Its reservoir influences Ziz water availability upstream of the gorge corridor.
Errachidia: A city in southeastern Morocco near the Ziz River and the northern approach to Tafilalt. The gorges lie along the route south from this city.
Alluvial fan: A fan-shaped deposit of sediment where a stream leaves steep terrain and spreads onto flatter ground. Such deposits form where tributaries emerge from mountain valleys into the Ziz corridor.