Ouarzazate in the context of Aït Benhaddou

The Anti-Atlas, also known as Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas, is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt, altogether a distance of approximately 500 km. The range borders on the Sahara to the south.

In some contexts, the Anti-Atlas is considered separate from the Atlas Mountains system, as the prefix "anti" (i.e. opposite) implies.

The Draa (Arabic: وادي درعة, romanized: wādī dar'a; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara) is Morocco's longest river, at 1,100 kilometres (680 mi). It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini River. It flows from the High Atlas mountains, initially south-eastward to Tagounite, and from Tagounite mostly westwards to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean somewhat north of Tan-Tan. In 1971, the (El) Mansour Eddahabi dam was constructed to service the regional capital of Ouarzazate and to regulate the flow of the Draa. Most of the year the part of the Draa after Tagounite falls dry.

In the first half of the 20th century, the lowest course of the Draa marked the boundary between the French protectorate of Morocco and the area under Spanish rule.

Tashelhiyt or Tachelhit (/ˈtæʃəlhɪt/ TASH-əl-hit; from the endonym Taclḥiyt, IPA: [tæʃlħijt]), or also known as Shilha (/ˈʃɪlhə/ SHIL-hə; from its name in Moroccan Arabic, Šəlḥa) is a Berber language spoken in southwestern Morocco. When referring to the language, anthropologists and historians prefer the name Shilha, which is in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Linguists writing in English prefer Tashelhit (or a variant spelling). In French sources the language is called tachelhit, chelha or chleuh.

Shilha is spoken in an area covering around 100,000 square kilometres. The area comprises the western part of the High Atlas mountains and the regions to the south up to the Draa River, including the Anti-Atlas and the alluvial basin of the Sous River. The largest urban centres in the area are the coastal city of Agadir (population over 400,000) and the towns of Guelmim, Taroudant, Oulad Teima, Tiznit and Ouarzazate.

Tashelhiyt or Tachelhit (/ˈtæʃəlhɪt/ TASH-əl-hit; from the endonym Taclḥiyt, IPA: [tæʃlħijt]), or also known as Shilha (/ˈʃɪlhə/ SHIL-hə; from its name in Moroccan Arabic, Šəlḥa) is a Berber language spoken in southern Morocco. When referring to the language, anthropologists and historians prefer the name Shilha, which is in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Linguists writing in English prefer Tashelhit (or a variant spelling). In French sources the language is called tachelhit, chelha or chleuh.

As of the 2024 Moroccan census, Shilha is spoken by 14.2% of the population, or approximately 5.2 million people. The area comprises the western part of the High Atlas mountains and the regions to the south up to the Draa River, including the Anti-Atlas and the alluvial basin of the Sous River. The largest urban centres in the area are the coastal city of Agadir (population over 400,000) and the towns of Guelmim, Taroudant, Oulad Teima, Tiznit and Ouarzazate.

Taroudant (Arabic: تارودانت, romanized: Tarudant, [taːruːdaːnt]) is a city in the Sous in southwestern Morocco. It is situated east of Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and south of Marrakesh. Today, it is a small market town and a tourist destination.