page_title: Hodh El Gharbi Region
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Hodh El Gharbi Region / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Near Ayoun (Mauritania) Français&#160;: Avant Ayoun el-Atrous (Mauritanie), un troupeau et un cavalier
context_page_description: Hodh El Gharbi is a region in southern Mauritania, with an area of 53,400 square km. The population at the 2013 census was 294,109. Its capital is Aïoun. The region borders the Mauritanian regions of Tagant to the north, Hodh Ech Chargui to the east and Assaba to the west. To the south in borders Mali, and a part of Malian territory protrudes into the region. The Aoukar basin, which formerly gave name to a greater region, is located in the northern and central part of Hodh El Gharbi, extending eastwards.
  As of 2013, the population of the region was 294,109, compared to 274,443 in 2011. There were 47.53 per cent females and 52.47 per cent males. As of 2008, the activity rate was 52.00 and economic dependency ratio was 0.88. As of 2008, the literacy rate for people aged 15 years and over was 67.10.
context_section_description: Mauritania is mostly covered with desert, with only its western regions around the coast of Atlantic Ocean having some vegetation. There are some oasis in the desert regions. Since it is a desert, there are large shifting dunes forming temporary ranges. The average elevation is around 460 m (1,510 ft) above the mean sea level. The rainfall in the northern regions closer to the Tropic of Cancer receives around 100 mm (3.9 in) of annual rainfall compared to the southern portions that receives around 660 mm (26 in). The average temperature is 37.8 °C (100.0 °F), while during the night it reaches 0 °C (32 °F). Due to the geography, the inhabitants historically, have been nomadic. In modern times, people have migrated to urban centres during the drought in 1970 and 1980. There are a few sedentary cultivators, who are located only in the Southern regions of the country. Research has indicated that the Saharan movement has resulted in reduction of rains in the region from the 1960s, when it received close to 250 mm (9.8 in) of rainfall.
caption: Landscape near Ayoun
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "E5400", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "E5400v1.3", "Image DateTime": "2008:01:03 14:38:01", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "284", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4596", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4379", "EXIF ExposureTime": "10/11337", "EXIF FNumber": "22/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:01:03 14:38:01", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:01:03 14:38:01", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1026", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "58", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}