El Djouf

El Djouf lies within the southern part of Western Sahara, the desert country that the Portuguese called Río de Oro. Prince Henry the Navigator sent Gil Eanes and Baldaia in 1435 to search for the legendary River of Gold in western Africa. Sailing down the coast, they rounded the al-Dakhla peninsula and entered an inlet that they mistook for the mouth of that river. In 1436 the name Rio do Ouro was attached to the discovery, and it remained in use for the inlet and surrounding country even though no gold was found in the narrow gulf or its neighborhood. Some gold dust was obtained from local people.

The Atlantic coast and the bay drew outside navigators, while the interior stayed outside the events of these voyages. The history of this place is therefore mainly a regional maritime episode rather than a documented local state formation.