Dakhla, is a city in the Moroccan administred Western Sahara with about 67,000 inhabitants. It is about 550 km south of El Aaiún on the Atlantic Coast, located in a narrow peninsula. It is the capital of the Oued Ed-Dahab-Lagouira region. During the colonial period, the Spanish authorities made Dakhla capital of the province of Río de Oro, one of the two regions of the Spanish Sahara.