The port city of Nador is located on the northeast coast of Morocco, in the Oriental Region, on the Mediterranean Sea. In the province, in Beni Ensar, there is one of the most important ports in the country. The inhabited center is located about ten kilometers from the Spanish enclave of Melilla, in the Bou Areg lagoon, also known as Mar Chica. The salt lagoon is separated from the sea by two strips of sand. Behind it are the Rif mountains, while near the center are the beaches of Boucana and el Kalat, and Kariat Arekmane, the lagoon coast. The small archipelago of the Spanish islands Chafarinas extends along the coast.
The city of Nador was founded by the Spanish in 1909 and is crossed by the large palm-lined boulevard Mohamed V. Worth visiting is the Church of Santiago el Mayor, from 1920, near the ancient Plaza del Pilar, with the Victoria gardens. Strolling along the seafront leads to the Sanctuary of Sidi Ali and the small fishing port. In the district of Almatar, with a modern design, the Gran Rif Boulevard stands out with the new mosque and the Ornithological Park.
The province, a part of which was split up in 2009 to form the new province of Driouch, is the largest economic zone in north-eastern Morocco and the port of Beni Ensar is one of the main gateways to Europe. The area is experiencing a spectacular growth in its economy thanks to the numerous projects in the construction phase (the port of Nador West Med and the project for the tourist development of Mar Chica which intends to enhance the 25 kilometers of neraby beach). Located on the coast, Cape Three Forks, a vast mountainous promontory in North Africa that extends for twenty kilometers into the Mediterranean, is a place renowned for its landscape, characterized by lush vegetation, and beaches bathed by crystalline waters, habitats of most of one hundred terrestrial and aquatic animal species. Southeast of the promontory is Cara Blanca beach, one of the most beautiful places for scuba diving in Morocco.
The climate is characterized by short, hot, sultry, mostly serene summers. Winters are long, cool and windy. Throughout the year, the temperature typically ranges from 9 ° C to 31 ° C and is rarely below 6 ° C or above 35 ° C.
The economy of the area is based on fishing, agriculture and to a small extent on industry. A large part of the population is made up of Rifian Berbers and Nador is the largest Berber-speaking (Tarifit language) city in the world.