| Part of a series on the |
| History of Western Sahara |
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| Background |
| History of Morocco (Colonial wars) Spanish Sahara · Spanish Morocco Moroccan Army of Liberation Harakat Tahrir · Sahrawi National Union Party Madrid Accords |
| Disputed regions |
| Saguia el-Hamra · Río de Oro Southern Provinces · Free Zone · |
| Politics |
| Legal status of Western Sahara · Politics of Morocco / of the SADR Polisario Front (former members) Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs |
| Rebellions |
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Pre-1975: post 1975: Western Sahara conflict (Western Sahara War · Independence Intifada) |
| Conflict issues |
| Refugee camps · Wall · Human rights in Western Sahara |
| Sahara peace process |
| Resolution 1495 · Resolution 1754 · Visiting mission · Referendum mission · ICJ Advisory Opinion · Settlement Plan · Houston Agreement · Baker Plan · Manhasset negotiations · Moroccan Initiative |
Saguia el-Hamra, in Arabic الساقية الحمراء, al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a ("Red Canal"), is, with Río de Oro, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. Its name comes from a waterway that goes through the capital.
Occupying the northern part of Western Sahara, it lies between the 26th parallel north and 27°50'N. The city of Cape Bojador serves to divide the regions. Its capital is El Aaiún (Laâyoune), and it also includes the city of Smara.
The territory takes its name from an intermittent river, the Saguia el-Hamra, 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.