town, east-central Morocco. It is situated on the Saharan side of the Atlas Mountains near the frontier with Algeria. The town, which was occupied by the French from 1916 until the mid-1950s, is an irrigated oasis of date, olive, and fig trees and a road junction on the banks of the Wadi Ziz, a desert stream. It is the site of an agricultural experimental station.

The surrounding region is isolated and arid. Its inhabitants were dependent primarily upon subsistence farming and nomadic herding until the completion of a dam directly above Al-Rachidia in 1972. Citrus fruits are grown, and lead and zinc are mined in the region. Pop. (2004) 76,759.