coast. Mount Toubkal, in the Atlas
Mountains, is Morocco’s highest peak. It
reaches a height of 13,665 feet (4,165
meters). The southern and southeastern
edges of Morocco lie within the Sahara,
the world’s largest desert. Most of the
country has mild, wet winters and hot,
dry summers.
Plants and Animals
Forests of oak, fir, and cedar trees grow
in the mountains. Bushes and grasses
cover the lowlands. A forest of cork oak
trees grows east of Rabat.
Many large animals in Morocco have
disappeared because of hunting. The
government protects Morocco’s Barbary
apes, which live in the Atlas Mountains.
Morocco has many birds, including
storks, flamingos, pelicans, and cattle
egrets.
People
The people of Morocco are mostly Arabs
and Berbers (a tribe from northern
Africa). More than half of the people
live in cities, mainly in the northwest.
Arabic is the main language. Some
people also speak French or Berber languages.
Islam is the national religion.
Economy
Manufacturing and mining are important
parts of Morocco’s economy. Factories
make food and tobacco products,
clothing, and chemicals. Morocco’s
mines provide large amounts of phosphates,
which are used to make fertilizers
and other products. Tourism is
another important industry.
Many Moroccans are farmers or fishers.
Major crops include wheat, barley, sugar
beets, citrus fruits, vegetables, and olives.
The Atlantic Ocean provides a large
catch of fish.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Morocco 183
History
Morocco’s early peoples included Berber
tribes. Traders from the Middle East
began arriving in North Africa more
than 2,000 years ago. The Roman
Empire controlled the region in the AD
300s.
Arab armies arrived in 692. Many
people converted to Islam. Islamic Berber
kingdoms ruled Morocco from the
1000s to the 1200s. They also ruled
much of Spain and North Africa. By the
end of the 1600s Morocco was a strong
and independent Islamic kingdom.
European Control
In 1830 France invaded Morocco’s
neighbor Algeria. France took control of
most of Morocco in 1912. Spain controlled
parts of northern and southern
Morocco. The Moroccan king stayed on
the throne, but the French held the real
power.
The Berbers in the Atlas Mountains
fought the French until 1934. During
WorldWar II (1939–45) Moroccans
began to call for independence.
Morocco gained independence from
both France and Spain in 1956.
Western Sahara
In 1975 Morocco took over the northern
part ofWestern Sahara. The Spanish,
who controlled the territory, left in
1976. Morocco took the southern part
ofWestern Sahara from Mauritania in
1979. Meanwhile, a rebel group from
Western Sahara was fighting for the territory’s
independence. To escape the
violence manyWest Saharans went to
Algeria. At the start of the 21st century
the people ofWestern Sahara still had
not agreed to Moroccan rule.
..More to explore
Arabs • Rabat
Colorfully dyed wool is displayed
in a market in Marrakech,
Morocco.
Date palms and farmers’ fields
lie outside a village on the slopes
of the Atlas Mountains in
Morocco.
Facts About
MOROCCO
Population
(2008 estimate;
includes Western
Sahara)
32,103,000
Area
177,117 sq mi
(458,730 sq km;
excludes Western
Sahara)
Capital
Rabat
Form of
government
Constitutional
monarchy
Major urban
areas
Casablanca,
Rabat, Fes,
Marrakech,
Tangier
184 Morocco BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Moroni
Population
(2003 estimate)
41,600
Moroni is the capital of Comoros, an
island country off the east coast of
Africa. The city is located on the western
edge of Ngazidja (or Grande Comore),
the country’s largest island. It is the largest
city in Comoros.
Moroni has a port on the Indian Ocean.
Ships load up there with products such
as vanilla, cloves, and ylang-ylang (flowers
used in perfume). Tourism also
brings money to the city.
Muslim Arabs founded Moroni. The
French took over Moroni and the rest of
Comoros in the 1800s. Moroni became
the capital of the islands in 1958. In
1975 Comoros became an independent
country with Moroni as its capital.
Afterward the city was the site of many
violent protests and takeovers of the
country’s government.
#More to explore
Comoros
Morse Code
Morse Code is a system of electronic
communication. It uses dots, dashes,
and spaces to represent letters, punctuation,
and numbers. The symbols are
arranged to spell out a message. A
machine called a telegraph converts the
symbols into electrical signals and sends
them across a wire to their destination.
The signals are then converted back into
the message by the telegraph that
receives them.
A U.S. artist and inventor named Samuel
F.B. Morse created Morse Code in
the 1830s. Before his invention, an
important message could take weeks to
reach its destination. Morse Code and
the telegraph allowed people to receive
information sent from far away in just
minutes.Wires were strung all across the
United States for the use of the code.
Newspapers, railroads, and businesses
used the code and the telegraph to send
news quickly from one city to another.
A second type of Morse Code was created
in Europe in 1851. It was called the
International Morse Code, or the Continental
Morse Code. It was simpler than
