MAURITANIA
Geography and Landscape
Geography and Landscape
| Basic information | |
| Official language | Arabic |
| Capital | Nouakchott |
| Area | 1.025.520 km² |
| Population | 4,858,417 (2021) |
| Currency | ouguiya (MRO) |
| Web | .mr |
| Code. | MRT |
| Tel. | +222 |
Geography and Landscape
Geography
Mauritania is located in north-west Africa. Mauritania borders the Atlantic Ocean and lies between Senegal and the Western Sahara. Mauritania also borders Algeria and Mali. The surface area of Mauritania is 1,030,700 square kilometres.
Mauritania Satellite PhotoPhoto: Public domain
Landscape
Two thirds of Mauritania consists of desert, which is steadily advancing. A beautiful oasis is that of Tergit. The Adrar desert consists of undulating sand, from gold and blond to fiery ochre. There are also endless Erg's, deeply cleft, black rock plateaus. Further south there is also savannah, near the Senegal River is a strip of fertile land of 400 km. Fruit and vegetables are grown there.
Tergit oasis, MauritaniaPhoto: Ji-Elle CC 3.0 Unportedno changes made
The western side consists of more than 700 km of coast. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, on the Atlantic Ocean.
Climate and Weather
Mauritania has primarily a desert climate. Temperatures in Mauritania are extreme. From December to March it is about 29 ºC, from June to August 40 ºC. On the coast it is cooler then. There is no rainy season, in any case there is little precipitation. Most of the country has less than 200 mm of rainfall per year. However, it can freeze at night all year round, due to the enormous cooling in the desert.
Plants and Animals
Plants
The desert provides little variation in the flora. In the savannah along the Senegal River there are palms and baobabs. Furthermore, euphorbia, millet, lontar palm, maize and rice are found.
Animals
In the desert, a handful of gazelles roam here and there, and occasionally you see buzzards. At the Banc d'Arguin, a stopping place for migratory birds between Europe and North Asia, more than 2 million shorebirds live. They rest and breed massively on sandbanks in the shallow sea. On the banks of the Senegal River there is a bird sanctuary where endangered species can be found. The following species can also be found (sporadically): dorkas gazelle, lion, male sheep, elephant, panther and warthog.
Sources
Elmar Landeninformatie
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Copyright: Team The World of Info