Geography | |
---|---|
Location | North Atlantic Ocean |
Coordinates | 31°29′50″N9°47′12″W / 31.49722°N 9.78667°W |
Major islands | Mogador Island |
Administration | |
Region | Marrakesh-Safi |
Province | Essaouira Province |
Official name | Archipel et dunes d'Essawira |
Designated | 15 January 2005 |
Reference no. | 1469 [1] |
Iles Purpuraires are a set of small islands off the western coast of Morocco at the bay located at Essaouira, the largest of which is Mogador Island. These islands were settled in antiquity by the Phoenicians, chiefly to exploit certain marine resources and as a promontory fort. (Hogan, 2007) Roman occupation of western Morocco beginning in the 1st century AD continued the use of the islets, principally for manufacture of a royal blue dye from the marine organisms Murex. Ile Purpuraires is associated with the color purple and Hanno the Navigator may have visited these islands. Neolithic archaeological studies in this area indicate indigenous peoples of western Morocco fished in this locale circa 3000 to 2000 BC. (Trakadas, 2002) The islands have been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 2005. [1]
Juba II of Mauretania was the son of Juba I and client king of Numidia and Mauretania. Aside from his very successful reign, he was a highly respected scholar and author. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Queen Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.
Tyrian purple, also known as royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. The name Tyrian refers to Tyre, Lebanon, once Phoenicia. It is secreted by several species of predatory sea snails in the family Muricidae, rock snails originally known by the name Murex. In ancient times, extracting this dye involved tens of thousands of snails and substantial labour, and as a result, the dye was highly valued. The colored compound is 6,6'-dibromoindigo.
Aldabra, the world's second-largest coral atoll, is located southeast of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 km (700 mi) southwest of the capital, Victoria on Mahé Island. Initially named by Arab seafarers for its harsh environment, Aldabra became a French colony dependency in the 18th century, leading to the exploitation of its natural resources, particularly giant tortoises. After passing through British hands, Aldabra faced potential military use in the 1960s, but international protests resulted in its protection. The atoll boasts unique geography, featuring the world's largest raised coral reef and a large shallow lagoon. Aldabra's history involves human impact, including failed agricultural ventures.
Essaouira, known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014.
A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed.
The Canary Current is a wind-driven surface current that is part of the North Atlantic Gyre. This eastern boundary current branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows southwest about as far as Senegal where it turns west and later joins the Atlantic North Equatorial Current. The current is named after the Canary Islands. The archipelago partially blocks the flow of the Canary Current.
The Banc d'Arguin National Park of Bay of Arguin lies in Western Africa on the west coast of Mauritania between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and is the former mouth of the Tamanrasset River. The World Heritage Site is a major site for migratory birds and breeding birds, including flamingos, pelicans and terns. Much of the breeding is on sand banks including the islands of Tidra, Niroumi, Nair, Kijji and Arguim. The surrounding waters are some of the richest fishing waters in western Africa and serve as nesting grounds for the entire western region.
Lake Corangamite, a hypersaline endorheic lake, is located near Colac in the Lakes and Craters region of the Victorian Volcanic Plains of south-west Victoria, Australia. The lake's salinity levels have increased dramatically as the lake level has dropped in recent decades. It is Australia's largest permanent saline lake, covering approximately 230 square kilometres (89 sq mi) with a circumference of 150 kilometres (93 mi). It forms part of the Ramsar-listed Western District Lakes wetland site. The Aboriginal name of the lake is recorded as Kronimite.
Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve is a former marine protected area consisting of waters around Elizabeth and Middleton reefs located at the south-eastern end of the Coral Sea Islands, an Australian territory in the Coral Sea. It was incorporated into the new Lord Howe Commonwealth Marine Reserve in December 2012. The two reefs also form a Ramsar site, having been listed as Ramsar Site 1223, on 21 October 2002, under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance.
Marrakesh–Tensift–El Haouz was formerly one of the 16 regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It was situated in central Morocco. It covered an area of 31,160 km² and had a population of 3,576,673. The capital is Marrakesh. In 2015, the region annexed Safi and Youssoufia Provinces to become the Region of Marrakesh-Safi.
Oued Ksob is a river in western Morocco that discharges to the Atlantic Ocean on a broad beach slightly south of the city of Essaouira and slightly north of the village of Diabat. The mouth of the river, along with the nearby Iles Purpuraires, is known for sightings of the rare species Eleonora's falcon. To the south of the Ksob mouth is a ruined watchtower known as the Bordj El Berod.
Bourj El Baroud is a ruined watchtower located somewhat south of the mouth of Oued Ksob near Essaouira, Morocco. This structure is located on a broad sandy beach directly across from Phoenician ruins at the southeast tip of the main islet of Iles Purpuraires. This beach is likely the one referred to in Herodotus' account of the Phoenicians' trading with the indigenous peoples of this part of western Morocco. About one kilometre inland is the village of Diabat.
Diabat is a village in western Morocco near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean about five kilometres south of the city of Essaouira. The Bordj El Berod is a ruined watchtower located somewhat south of the mouth of Oued Ksob near about one kilometre west of Diabat.
R301 is a coastal highway in Western Morocco connecting the cities of Essaouira and El Jadida. This paved highway varies between two and four lanes of travel. In many locations views of the Atlantic Ocean coastline are available. There are a number of coastal bridges spanned by the B301 including one over the Wadi Oum er-Rbia estuary at Azemmour. At the southern part of the R301 lies some of the earliest recorded settlement history in Morocco: the archaeological ruins of Mogador, which were originally Phoenician from at least as early as the first millennium BC.
Îles Ehotilé National Park is a national park of the Ivory Coast in the Sud-Comoé region. The park consists of a group of low islands and the intervening channels that separate Aby Lagoon from the Atlantic Ocean.
André Jodin is an archaeologist known for explorations and excavations in North Africa, especially in Morocco. André Jodin (1921-2003) studied Phoenician and Punic sites in Morocco in the 1960s and 1970s. Mogador (Essaouira) (Kerné?) became then the most extreme place of Phoenician merchants in the South Atlantic African coast. His contribution to Volubilis followed Carcopino’s thesis about the regia of king Juba II in Morocco. In the 1980s André Jodin participated in the archaeological study of the Iberian necropolis of Cabezo Lucero. References: -A. Jodin: Mogador. Comptoir phénicien du Maroc atlantique, Rabat, 1966. -A. Jodin: Volubilis Regia Iubae, Paris, 1987. -A. Jodin et al.: La nécropole ibérique de Cabezo Lucero, Madrid, 1993.
The Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site comprises the 17,289 km2 of oceanic island and reef habitats within the former Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve and the former Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve in the Australian Coral Sea Islands Territory.
Bahiret el Bibane is a large lagoon of around 33 km length by 10 km width near the Libyan border located 10 km North of the town of Ben Gardane and 20 km West of the city of Zarzis, in the Medenine governorate. It has been classified as a Ramsar Wetland since 2007. The lagoon itself is the second largest in Tunisia after the lagoon or gulf of Boughrara.
Mogador Island is the main island of the Iles Purpuraires near Essaouira in Morocco. It is about 3 kilometres long and 1.5 kilometres wide, and lies about 1.5 kilometres from Essaouira.
The Bombardment of Mogador took place August 15–17, 1844, when French Navy forces under the Prince de Joinville attacked the Moroccan city of Mogador, modern Essaouira, and the island facing the city, Mogador island. The campaign was part of the Franco-Moroccan War.