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Northern Sector
The south-eastern and central regions of the Northern Sector are characterised by flat sand and gravel plains, with occasional outcrops of sandstone and granite. Higher elevation regions to the north consist of limestone basement, rich in fossil marine deposits which outcrop in many areas, underneath sandstone. Large playa surfaces occur frequently across the northernmost areas of the Free Zone, which is also characterised by large, now large inactive, river channels - the Wadis Dirt, Ternit and Erni, which drain into the Saguia el-Hara, a large channel which drains into the Atlantic.
The western regions of the Northern Sector exhibit much higher relief, and are characterised in many areas by rough and hilly terrain and numerous complex wadi systems. Low elevated plateaux occur in many areas (e.g. Rekeiz, Bou Dheir), and are often associated with rock art.
There are no meteorological stations in the Free Zone at present, but climatological charts produced in the 1950s indicate that average annual rainfall in the Northern Sector is between 30 amd 40 mm (Dubief, 1953). However, as in all arid regions, rainfall is highly variable. Nonetheless, the indigenous Sahrawi do have a concept of drought, and a few Sahrawi grow wheat when rainfall is sufficiently abundant. Away from the coastal region, where coastal upwelling produces atmospheric subsidence and enhances aridity, many parts of Western Sahara are much wetter and more vegetated that Saharan regions further east at similar latitudes. After rain the landscape of many parts of the Free Zone, particularly in the Northern Sector, resembles savannah.
Map of the Northern Sector. Click for
larger image.
Southern Sector
The southernmost area of the Free Zone, the area known as Tiris, is much more arid than the northern and cental regions, and is characterised by wide, flat sand and gravel plains from which rise granite hills, either in isolation or in small clusters. These areas often formed the focus for human activity, as evident from abundant archaeological remains.
The only sand sea in the Free Zone is located in the far south-east of Western Sahara near Zug, where it runs from south-west to north-east from Mauritania into Western Sahara and back into Mauritania, where the border form a right angle.
Savannah-like environment, Northern Sector, November 2006.
Large trees in Wadi Tifariti, Northern Sector.
Vegetation in a small wadi at Rekeiz, Northern Sector.
Barren, highly varnished sandstone landscape at western end of Irghrayway hills, south-western region of Northern Sector.
Landscape at Lajuad, a collection of rounded granite hills in the Southern Sector.
Isolated granite hill in the Dukjen areas, Southern Sector.
