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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Mauritania
Index
Mauritania has four ecological zones: the Saharan Zone, the
Sahelian Zone, the Senegal River Valley, and the Coastal Zone.
Although the zones are markedly different from one another, no
natural features clearly delineate the boundaries between them.
Sand, varying in color and composition, covers 40 percent of the
surface of the country, forming dunes that appear in all zones
except the Senegal River Valley. Fixed sand dunes are composed of
coarse, fawn-colored sand, while shifting ("mobile") dunes
consist of fine, dustlike, reddish-colored sands that can be
carried by the wind. Plateaus generally are covered with heavier
blue, gray, and black sands that form a crusty surface over
layers of soft, loose sand.
Data as of June 1988
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