Ad Dakhla

Port and southern region in Western Sahara, under the de facto control of Morocco; population of region (1994 est) 29,800. The town was first established as a Spanish trading port in 1476, when it was known as Villa Cisneros. The small port, which needs to import its drinking water because of the dry desert climate, stands on an inlet of the Atlantic which the Portuguese called Rio De Oro (River of Gold) because trade in gold dust from West Africa passed through it. The Spanish retained this name for the surrounding region.