Sebou River

The Sebou (Berber: ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⵏ ⵙⴱⵓ, Arabic: واد سبو) is a river in northern Morocco. At its source in the Middle Atlas mountains it is known as the Guigou River (Berber: ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⵏ ⴳⵉⴳⵓ). The river is 496 kilometers long and has an average water flow of 137 m/s, which makes it the 2nd largest North African river by volume. It passes near Fes, and discharges to the Atlantic Ocean at Mehdya. Sebou is navigable for only 16 km as far as the city of Kenitra, which has the only river port in Morocco. Its most important tributaries are the Ouergha River, Baht River and Inaouen River. The river supports irrigation in Morocco's most fertile region: the Gharb. Sebou was known in antiquity as Sububus. Pliny the Elder states that it was "magnificus et navigabilis" (grand and navigable), flowing near the towns of Banasa (near the city of Mechra Bel Ksiri) and Thamusida. There is scant historical reference to the Sebou being used for navigation after the Islamic conquest; nevertheless, its river mouth was an important harbor and shipyard in the Almohad period.