Designations | |
---|---|
Official name | Complexe du bas Loukkos |
Designated | 15 January 2005 |
Reference no. | 1475[1] |
The Loukkos River (واد لوكوس; Spanish: Río Luco) 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's source is located in the Rif Mountains and flows into the Atlantic Ocean in the city of Larache; the city's port is on 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 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 4 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).
The Lukkus is the largest river in northern Morocco. Although it is relatively short, this river carries the third largest water flow in Morocco. The river can cause great flooding in times of flood. In 1775 the river appeared on a map by Tomás López and Vargas with the denomination of "River Lucos.[2] For a time the river formed a border between Morocco and the French imperial lands.