Dadès Gorges
Rugged Moroccan wadi gorges carved by the Dadès River.
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The Dadès Gorges, also called the Dades Valley, are a set of steep, rocky wadi canyons cut by the Dadès River in Morocco. This river begins in the High Atlas mountain range and travels roughly 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest, eventually meeting the Draa River at the Sahara’s edge. The gorge cliffs vary in height from 200 to 500 meters (660 to 1,640 feet).
Millions of years ago, this area rested on the seafloor. Sediment piled up around massive coral reefs, eventually compacting into sedimentary rocks like sandstone and limestone. Later, crustal movements pushed the region above the water, creating the Atlas Mountains and the surrounding terrain. The Dadès River established its path early during this uplift, and its flowing water started wearing away the mountains’ porous sedimentary rock.
For most of the year, the river flows weakly due to the dry climate. But during storm seasons, sudden, huge volumes of water create violent torrents with strong erosive power. These floods carry heavy debris from the river’s source to its end, and each piece scrapes against the softer gorge walls, slowly widening and deepening the canyon with every flood.
In the southernmost gorges, roses are widely cultivated for rose water production. Palm and almond tree groves also grow there.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Morocco
- River
- Dadès River
- Rock types
- Sandstone and limestone
- Known for
- Rose water production and dramatic gorge landscape
Facts from the source article.
Background
Millions of years ago, the area which now forms the Dadès Gorges lay at the bottom of the sea. Great quantities of sediment were deposited around giant coral reefs, and over time this material became compacted into a variety of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone. Eventually, the movement of the Earth's crust caused the region to rise above the sea, forming the Atlas Mountains and surrounding landscape. The Dadès River established its course quite early in this upheaval, and the flowing water began to erode away the porous sedimentary rock of the mountains.
For the majority of the year, the Dadès has a relatively weak flow, owing to the dryness of the area's climate. However, during the storm season, enormous quantities of water can be forced into the river at once, creating raging torrents with enormous erosive power. These torrents carry large amounts of debris from the source all the way down to the end of the river's source, and each piece scrapes away at the softer rock in the gorge walls, gradually enlarging and deepening the gorge with every flood season.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Dadès Gorges (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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