Río de Oro facts for kids
Rio de Oro was a special part of Western Sahara when it was controlled by Spain. Its name means "River of Gold" in Spanish. This area is located more to the south, while the other part of Western Sahara was called Saguia el Hamra. The name "Rio de Oro" comes from a type of dry riverbed called a wadi. The main city in this territory is Dakhla, which the Spanish used to call Villa Cisneros. Rio de Oro is quite large, covering about 184,000 square kilometers (about 71,000 square miles). Its northern border is at the 26th parallel (an imaginary line of latitude), and its southern border is at the 21° 20' parallel, where it meets Mauritania.
A Name with a Golden Story
The name Rio do Ouro was first used by Portuguese traders way back in 1442. They came to this area to trade goods for gold dust. They thought they were in the famous Mali Empire, which was ruled by a very rich emperor named Mansa Musa. The Mali Empire was known for its gold, even though the gold itself wasn't found right in Rio de Oro. Instead, it was found further south in places like Akjoujt and near the Niger River.
Searching for the River
Old maps sometimes showed a long river flowing from the middle of Africa all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in this region. However, newer maps show a much shorter river that actually ends in a dry riverbed called a wadi, specifically one named Megeta Mersug. In 1886, a Spanish group went on an expedition to find this legendary river, but they couldn't find it. This shows how maps and our understanding of geography can change over time!
Images for kids
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A stamp from Rio de Oro, issued in 1907, showing King Alphonso XIII.
See also
In Spanish: Río de Oro para niños
