Western Sahara, (formerly Spanish Sahara), northwestern Africa, former overseas province of Spain partitioned in 1976 between Mauritania and Morocco, and since 1979, occupied entirely by Morocco. Western Sahara encompasses about 267,000 sq. km (about 103,000-sq mi.); Morocco, bound it on the north, on the northeast by Algeria, on the east and
south by Mauritania, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. With a hot, arid climate, and composed mostly of rocky and sandy soils, the region is not suitable for sedentary agriculture, but some sheep, goats, and camels are raised by nomadic herders.