The Atlantic Coast
3,500 kilometres from Tangier to Lagouira — fishing ports, beach towns, and the Western Sahara shore
The coast begins at Cap Spartel, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic northwest of Tangier. The water changes colour at the junction — blue Mediterranean giving way to grey-green Atlantic. The temperature drops. The swells arrive. From here south, the coastline faces the open ocean.
Rabat and Casablanca anchor the urban coast. Together they hold over 10 million people — nearly a quarter of Morocco's population. Casablanca's port handles over 50% of the country's maritime trade. The Ain Diab corniche — Casablanca's beachfront — is the social centre of the economic capital. Rabat, the political capital, faces the ocean from the Kasbah des Oudayas bluffs.
Essaouira is the wind city. Built by Sultan Mohammed III in the 18th century as a trading port, its fortified medina faces directly into the Atlantic trade winds. The alizé blows from the north-northeast for six months of the year, making Essaouira one of the world's great wind sport destinations. The town's Portuguese-designed ramparts and French-planned medina are UNESCO-listed.
Between Essaouira and Agadir, the coast is rugged — cliffs, argan forests reaching to the shore, and fishing villages accessible only by dirt track. Taghazout and the surf coast occupy this stretch. South of Agadir, the Souss-Massa coast is flatter — long sandy beaches backed by dunes and the national park.
The Western Sahara coast — from Tan-Tan to Lagouira — is over 1,000 kilometres of almost uninterrupted beach. Dakhla, on its peninsula, has emerged as a kitesurfing destination of global significance. The fishing is extraordinary — the Canary Current upwelling system along this coast produces one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world.
The ocean defines Morocco's climate. The cold Canary Current keeps the coast cool in summer — Essaouira rarely exceeds 25°C even in August. The moisture it delivers feeds the agriculture of the plains. The Atlantic is Morocco's air conditioner, its food source, and its western wall.
Explore the full interactive module — with coastal maps, ocean current data, and the port economies charted — at Dancing with Lions: https://www.dancingwiththelions.com/data/atlantic-coast
Interactive Module
Data and visualisation by Dancing with Lions
