Tan-Tan

Tan-Tan (طانطان) is a city in Tan-Tan Province in the region of Guelmim-Oued Noun in southwestern Morocco. It is a desert town with a population (2014 census) of 73,209. It is the largest city in the province and second largest city in the region after the capital Guelmim. It is located on the banks of the wadi Oued Ben khelil, which flows into the Draa River 15 km north of the town. The Draa River at 1,100 km is the longest in Morocco and flows into the Atlantic Ocean soon after the confluence with the wadi. The town also has an airport, Tan Tan Plage Blanche Airport.

History
The quartz figurine Venus of Tan-Tan was found in a river terrace deposit on the north bank of the Draa River. Dated between 200,000 and 500,000 BCE, it is considered one of the oldest human-form sculptures in the world, although its formation may actually be natural.

Port
The nearby port, known as Tan-Tan Plage in French; Port of Tan-Tan in English; and El Ouatia, al-Watiyah or الوطية in Arabic is about 25 km west of Tan-Tan on the Atlantic Ocean. With a population in 2004 of 6,294 it is the second-largest settlement in the province and ninth-largest in the region. Both Tan-Tan and Tan-Tan Plage are on Morocco's main highway, the N1.

Climate
Tan-Tan has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). While usually strongly moderated by the cold offshore Canary Current, occasional easterly winds from the Sahara Desert interior bring exceptionally hot temperatures to the maritime areas of southern Morocco. These winds being frequent in autumn and seasonal lag from warming sea temperatures cause October afternoons to average warmer than the July counterparts. The varying timing of the hot inland winds causes a vast difference between the individual monthly mean maxima and the many months in which brief temperatures above 40 C may occur. Even the coldest winter nights remain well above freezing due to the Atlantic influence.