Saguia el-Hamra, in Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 الساقية الحمراء, al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a ("Red Canal"), is, with Río de Oro

Río de Oro

Río de Oro , is, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it was originally taken as a Spanish colonial possession in the late 19th century...

, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 province of Spanish Sahara

Spanish Sahara

Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled as a territory by Spain between 1884 and 1975...

 after 1969. Its name comes from a waterway that goes through the capital.

Occupying the northern part of Western Sahara

Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...

, it lies between the 26th parallel north

26th parallel north

The 26th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 26 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....

 and 27°50'N. The city of Cape Bojador

Cape Bojador

Cape Bojador or Cape Boujdour is a headland on the northern coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W. , as well as the name of a nearby town with a population of 41,178.It is shown on nautical charts with the original Portuguese name "Cabo Bojador", but is sometimes...

 serves to divide the regions. Its capital is El Aaiún

El Aaiún

El-Aaiún , is a city in Western Sahara founded by the Spanish in 1928. Administered by Morocco since 1976, El-Aaiún is the capital of what the Moroccan government call the region of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, and POLISARIO call Occupied Territories...

 (Laâyoune), and it also includes the city of Smara

Smara

Smara, also Semara , is a city in the Moroccan-Administered Western Sahara, with a population estimated at 42,056.-History:The largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. It is the only major city in Western Sahara that was not founded...

.

The territory takes its name from an intermittent river, the Saguia el-Hamra

Saguia el-Hamra (river)

The Saguia el-Hamra is an intermittent river and wadi which rises in the northeast of Western Sahara, some 30 kilometres southeast of El Farcya. The wadi continues west, passinc close to Haouza and Smara before joining with the intermittent Oued el Khatt just south of Laayoune on the Atlantic...

, the route of which runs dues west from south of El Farcya to reach the Atlantic at Laayoune.

The area is roughly 31,660 mi.² (82,000 km²), making it approximately a third of the entire country.