Taounate

Taounate, town, northern Morocco. The town is a local market centre situated on the southern slopes of the Rif Mountains. It is located on a plateau overlooking the valley of the Sra River (Oued Sra), near the Gargara gorges.

The area surrounding Taounate is generally mountainous, and cereals (mostly wheat) and cattle are intensively raised at lower elevations. Fruits (including figs, olives, cherries, apples, and pears) are grown in the well-watered mountain valleys. Higher elevations are covered with commercially exploited cedars and cork oaks. The area is inhabited mostly by Imazighen (Berbers); the more isolated groups speak only Riff, an Amazigh dialect, and the less isolated groups are generally bilingual, speaking both Riff and Arabic. Pop. (2004) 32,629.