Before French colonization of the region in the nineteenth century, part of south and west Algeria were under Moroccan influence and no border was defined.Security Problems with Neighboring States – Countrystudies.us In the Treaty of Lalla Maghnia (March 18, 1845), which set the border between French Algeria and Morocco, it is stipulated that "a territory without water is uninhabitable and its boundaries are superfluous"Article 6 du traité, cité par Zartman, page 163 and the border is delineated over only 165 km. Beyond that there is only one border area, without limit, punctuated by tribal territories attached to Morocco or Algeria.
