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Tiris Zemmour occupies Mauritania's far north, a region of open hamada, isolated massifs and one of the world's largest deposits of iron ore. Its capital, Zouerate, is a mining town built around the SNIM operations that export ore via the long freight train to Nouadhibou, one of the longest trains in the world. The region also borders Western Sahara and holds sites of geological interest, including the striking Richat Structure, though that formation actually sits just across the boundary in Adrar. This is Mauritania's most sparsely populated and industrially defined region, with little tourism infrastructure and a landscape dominated by mining rather than monuments. Riding or photographing the iron-ore train as it crosses the open desert is the region's best-known draw for the curious traveller.
- Zouerate, hub of Mauritania's iron-ore mining
- The world-famous iron-ore freight train
- Remote hamada desert and isolated massifs
- Border area near Western Sahara