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Nouakchott

Capital of MauritaniaWhere the Sahara meets the Atlantic Ocean, Nouakchott lies on the flat coast of southwestern Mauritania. Sand dunes advance on the city from the east, and parts of it lie below sea level.

Why it's the capital

Before independence, Mauritania was governed from Saint-Louis in Senegal and had no capital of its own. Moktar Ould Daddah, who became the country's first president, and his advisers chose a small coastal fishing village, partly because it lay between Saint-Louis and Nouadhibou. Building started in 1958.

Fun facts

  1. The name may come from a Berber phrase meaning "place of the winds"; another explanation says it means "having no ears".
  2. The new capital was planned for only 15,000 people, but droughts from the 1970s onward brought hundreds of thousands of newcomers.
  3. Nouakchott is one of the main places where meteorites found in the Sahara are sold.

Finding it on the globe

From Dakar, follow the coast north past the Senegal River into Mauritania. Nouakchott is on the shore a little south of the middle of Mauritania's coastline.

Easy to mix up

Don't confuse Mauritania with Mauritius, the island country in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, whose capital is Port Louis.

Sources: Wikipedia: Nouakchott, Wikipedia: Mauritius