Population: 905,000 (est.)

Kenitra lies on the Sebour River near the Atlantic Ocean on the route between Rabat and Tangier. It was established in 1912 by Marshal Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyauteyin, Morocco's first French resident general, as a military fort to replace Larache which had been incorporated into the Spanish zone.

The French built a new town and an artificial harbour. In 1933 the town was renamed Port-Lyautey, after the Marshal. After independence in 1956 the port was renamed Kenitra.

Today the city is still an important naval base and major port exporting grains, wine, citrus fruits and vegetables as well as zinc from the Midelt and cork from the Mamora forests. The city is also has textile milling, fish and tobacco processing, and fertilizer industries.