Loukkos River

The Loukkos River (واد لوكوس) is a major river in northern Morocco. Although it is relatively short (about 100 km), the river is the third largest in Morocco with an average flow of 50 m³/s. The Loukkos river takes source in the Rif Mountains and flows into the Atlantic Ocean in the city of Larache, the city's port is inside the river. The Loukkos river basin is 3,730 km² and contains one of the most fertile and productive agricultural lands in the country. One of the river's tributaries, Oued Makhazine, bears a great historical importance since it witnessed one of the most decisive battles in the history of Morocco: the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. In the battle on the 4th of August, 1578, the joint army of deposed Moroccan monarch Abu Abdallah Mohammed II Saadi and his ally, king Sebastian of Portugal, was defeated by the army of the new Moroccan sultan from the same Saadi dynasty (who was also Abu Abdallah's uncle).

Ancient history

Ancient Lixus is located on Tchemmich Hill on the right bank of the Loukkos River (other names: Oued Loukous; Locus River), just to the north of the modern seaport of Larache.^[1] The site lies within the urban perimeter of Larache, and about three kilometres inland from the mouth of the river and the Atlantic Ocean. From its 80 metres above the plain the site dominates the marshes through which the river flows.

Lixus was established as a Phoenician colony, subsequent to Phoenician navigators traversing the Alboran Sea to reach the Atlantic Ocean.^[2] Among the ruins at Lixus there are baths, temples, 4th century AD walls, a mosaic floor, and the intricate remains of the Capitol Hill.

References

1. Prehistoria de España: Trabajos dedicados al IV Congreso Internacional, Santiago Alcobé y Noguer
2. C.Michael Hogan. 2011. Alboran Sea. eds. P. Saundry & C. J. Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC

Coordinates: 35°12′15″N 6°08′34″W / 35.20417°N 6.14278°W