Citizens of Mauritania have limited access to transportation. The single-line railroad serves mining interests with very occasional ad hoc passenger services. Apart from two infrastructural road developments there are few paved roads.
Nouakchott is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania.
Mauritania, a country in the Western Region of the continent of Africa, is generally flat, its 1,030,700 square kilometres forming vast, arid plains broken by occasional ridges and clifflike outcroppings. Mauritania is the world’s largest country lying entirely below an altitude of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). It borders the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara, Mali and Algeria. It is considered part of both the Sahel and the Maghreb. A series of scarps face southwest, longitudinally bisecting these plains in the center of the country. The scarps also separate a series of sandstone plateaus, the highest of which is the Adrar Plateau, reaching an elevation of 500 metres or 1,640 feet. Spring-fed oases lie at the foot of some of the scarps. Isolated peaks, often rich in minerals, rise above the plateaus; the smaller peaks are called Guelbs and the larger ones Kedias. The concentric Guelb er Richat is a prominent feature of the north-central region. Kediet ej Jill, near the city of Zouîrât, has an elevation of 915 metres or 3,002 feet and is the highest peak.
Waalo was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what is now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north were Moorish emirates; to the south was the kingdom of Cayor; to the east was Jolof.
Saint-Louis or Saint Louis, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Senegal's capital city Dakar. It had a population of 254,171 in 2023. Saint-Louis was the capital of the French colony of Senegal from 1673 until 1902 and French West Africa from 1895 until 1902, when the capital was moved to Dakar. From 1920 to 1957, it also served as the capital of the neighboring colony of Mauritania.
Trarza is a region in southwest Mauritania. Its capital is Rosso. Other major cities and towns include Mederdra and Boutilimit. Trarza borders the regions of Inchiri and Adrar to the north, Brakna to the east, and the country of Senegal to the south. Its western coastline on the Atlantic Ocean is interrupted only by the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, which the region completely surrounds.
Brakna is a region in south-west Mauritania. Its capital is Aleg and its other major cities/towns include Boghé. The region borders the Mauritanian regions of Tagant to the north-east, Assaba and Gorgol to the south-east, and Trarza to the north-west.
Kaédi is the largest city and administrative center of the Gorgol Region of Southern Mauritania, located on the border with Senegal. It is approximately 435 km from Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott.
Dagana is a town and urban commune situated in the Saint-Louis Region of Senegal and it is the capital of the Dagana Department. Dagana borders Mauritania across the Senegal river.
Néma is a town in southeastern Mauritania, close to the border with Mali. It is located at around 16°37′0″N7°15′0″W at the eastern end of the Aoukar. It is the capital of Hodh Ech Chargui Region and of the Néma Department.
The Emirate of Trarza was a pre-colonial state in what is today southwest Mauritania. It has survived as a traditional confederation of semi-nomadic people to the present day. Its name is shared with the modern Region of Trarza. The population, a mixture of Berber tribes, had been there for a long time before being conquered in the 11th century by Hassaniya Arabic speakers from the north.
Mederdra is a small town and commune in south-west Mauritania, near the border of Senegal.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mauritania:
Mauritania, formally the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest. By land area Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and 28th-largest in the world; 90% of its territory is in the Sahara. Most of its population of some 4.3 million lives in the temperate south of the country, with roughly a third concentrated in the capital and largest city, Nouakchott, on the Atlantic coast.
Tékane is a town and urban commune in the Trarza Region of southern Mauritania, near the border of Senegal. It is located east of Rosso.
Jidr el-Mouhguen or Jedr El Moubghuen is a town and urban commune in the Trarza Region of south-western Mauritania. It is located near the Senegal River on the border with Senegal.
Portendick is an abandoned coastal city in western Mauritania. The name is a corruption of the Portuguese name Porto d'Arco. It was located in the Ouad Naga Department of Trarza Region.
The 2011–2012 Mauritanian protests were a series of protests in Mauritania that started in January 2011, influenced by and concurrent with the Arab Spring, and continued into 2012. The mostly peaceful protest movement demanded that President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz institute political, economic, and legal reforms. Common themes of protest centered around civil-military relations, slavery, other human rights abuses the opposition accused the government of perpetrating, and economic issues.
The Diama Dam, sometimes referred to as the Maka–Diama Dam is a gravity dam on the Senegal River, spanning the border of Senegal and Mauritania. It is located next to the town of Diama, Senegal and about 22 km (14 mi) north of Saint-Louis, Senegal. The purpose of the dam is to prevent saltwater intrusion upstream, supply water for the irrigation of about 45,000 ha of crops and create a road crossing for the road between St. Louis and Nouakchott in Mauritania. Additionally, a ship lock built within the dam provides for navigation upstream. Plans for the dam were first drawn in 1970 when the riparian states within the Senegal River Basin Development Authority agreed to develop the Senegal River. The Diama Dam was to be constructed in conjunction with the Manantali Dam which was to be located further upstream in Mali. Construction on the Diama Dam began on 15 September 1981 and was completed on 12 August 1986. The Manantali Dam was completed in 1988. The Diama project was funded by a US$149.5 million loan from the African Development Bank. The main section of the dam with ship lock and spillway is 170 m (560 ft) long while a 440 m (1,440 ft) long embankment dam section extends north to the edge of the river. A dike further extends the dam to the north. The dam is 18 m (59 ft) tall and its spillway has a maximum discharge of 6,500 m3/s (230,000 cu ft/s).
