Mauritania is a fascinating country with a colorful, indigenous Moorish population. Much of the land is dry and inhospitable and many locations are difficult to reach without long journeys in 4-wheel drive vehicles. Mauritania’s coast is essentially an 800km- (500-mile-) long sandy beach, all but devoid of vegetation but supporting an astonishingly large and varied population of birds.

Geography
Mauritania is bordered by Algeria, Mali, Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) and Senegal. To the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. Mauritania consists mainly of the vast Saharan plain of sand and scrub. Most of this area is a sea of sand dunes, but in places the land rises to rocky plateau with deep ravines leaving isolated peaks. The Adrar plateau in the central region rises to 500m (1,640ft), and the Tagant further south to 600m (1,970ft). The area is scattered with towns, small villages and oases. The northern bank of the Senegal River, which forms the country’s southern border, is the only area in the country with any degree of permanent vegetation and it supports a wide variety of wildlife.