Aguelmame Sidi Ali

Aguelmame Sidi Ali lies at 2,080 m (6,824 ft) in the Middle Atlas, in a natural hollow in basalt rock formed where two faults cross; it covers about 500 ha and is 36 m (118 ft) deep. Its water fills two basins divided by a ridge that shows when the level drops. Runoff, snowmelt and karst springs feed it, but falling rainfall has lowered it, and a marsh that once lay at its south-western end has gone. Above it rises the edge of Jebel Sidi Ali, a massif of hard volcanic rock reaching 2,395 m (7,858 ft) at Jebel Bouyizane, while the far shore borders the wide marshy plain of Ta'nzoult, watered by springs and streams. The lake takes its name from a marabout, a holy man whose shrine stands on the eastern shore. The land around it, once well wooded with Atlas cedar, has been degraded into dry, thorny scrub dominated by Spanish juniper, though a mixed wood of cedar, juniper and holm oak still grows at its eastern edge. In spring and summer herders, among them the Beni M'guild, bring flocks of sheep and goats to graze around the shore.

Background

Aguelmame Sidi Ali is a lake in the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco, close to the boundary of Ifrane Province. It lies at 2,080 m, covers about 500 ha and is 36 m deep, and it belongs to Khenifra National Park, a protected area of 842 km² created in 2008. The lake took shape where two faults cross, in a natural hollow in basalt rock, and holds two basins divided by a ridge that comes into view when the water drops. Runoff, snowmelt and karst springs feed it, and since 2005 it has been part of a Ramsar site.

Source: Wikipedia, "Lake Aguelmame Sidi Ali"

Highlights

• The lake - about 500 ha and 36 m (118 ft) deep, at 2,080 m (6,824 ft).
• Jebel Sidi Ali - the edge of a massif of hard volcanic rock above the lake, rising to 2,395 m (7,858 ft).
• A falling lake - with less rain the water has dropped, a marsh at the south-western end has gone, and a ridge between the two basins shows when the level is low.
• Spring and summer grazing - herders' flocks of sheep and goats on the pastures around the shore.

When to go

April to October. In winter the shores are usually under snow, and patches of it linger on the wooded slopes into spring. Half a day.

Practical notes

Since 2005 the lake has formed part of a Ramsar site with the nearby Tifounassine wetlands, an important wintering ground for ruddy shelduck and crested coot, yet fewer water birds now come in winter, great crested grebes have stopped nesting on the lake, wildfowl are poached despite the protection, and grazing has all but stripped the plants from the water's edge. The lake was once the only home of Salmo pallaryi, a native trout that died out after common carp were released into it in 1934; pike and zander have been brought in as well.

Nearby

In a straight line, Timahdite is about 19 km to the north-northwest and Azrou about 46 km in the same direction; Itzer is about 22 km to the south-southwest and Midelt about 50 km to the south-southeast.

Key facts