Sous
Encyclopedia
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Oued Sous (Asif n Sus), separated from the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
by the Anti-Atlas
Anti-Atlas
The Anti-Atlas or Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas, is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt,...
Mountains. The natural vegetation in the Sous is savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
dominated by the Argan
Argan
The Argan is a species of tree endemic to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley of southwestern Morocco and to the Algerian region of Tindouf in the western Mediterranean region. It is the sole species in the genus Argania....
(Argania spinosa), a local endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
tree found nowhere else; part of the area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to protect this unique habitat.
A well irrigated area, this has been one of Morocco's most fertile regions for centuries, known since at least the eleventh century for its cultivation and export of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
. The golden age of the Sous was in the seventeenth century during the era of the kingdom of Tazerwalt, when the region enjoyed autonomy and profited from both the trans-Saharan gold trade and the sale of sugar to Portuguese, Dutch and English traders. The centre for foreign trade during this time was Agadir
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
, a city 10 km north of the mouth of the Sous river.
The Sous is inhabited by Berber peoples; aside from some Arabic-speaking tribes, the main inhabitants are the Chleuh
Chleuh
The Shilha people, commonly known as the Chleuh are a Berber ethnic group. They live mainly in Morocco's Atlas Mountains and Souss Valley. The Shilha population is estimated to be approximately 8 million.They speak the Shilha language in several regional varieties...
(ašlḥi, Shilha, Sousis), speakers of a distinct Berber language called Shilha or Sous Berber (Tashelhiyt or Tasoussit).