Dadès River

Dadès River (French: Oued Dadès) is a river in Morocco, located at 31.0025° N 6.5266667° W. It rises in the High Atlas and then turns south crossing through the Dadès Gorge, thence westward between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountain ranges. Finally river meets Ouarzazate River and enters Draa River. The Dades Gorge is easily accessible by taxi from nearby Tinerhir. The scenery is significant with views of interesting rock formations. The valley itself is made lush and green by the river, while the surrounding area is rocky desert. There are simple communitities still living here in traditional houses. Women can be seen washing laundry in the river and laying it to dry on the surrounding bushes.

Hydrology

Flow rate of the river is highly seasonal with peak flows in the January to April period following the high precipitation and ensuing snowmelt. The water quality is alkaline, and summer water temperatures are in the range of 23 to 28 degrees Celsius. Electrical conductivity of the water is relatively high. (Hogan, 2006)