Al-Asfar Lake
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Al-Asfar Lake (
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: بحيرة الأصفر, Buḥayrat al-Aṣfar, meaning "Yellow Lake") is a
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
located east of Umran City in the
Al-Ahsa Governorate Al-Ahsa (, locally pronounced ''Al-Ḥasāʾ'' ()) also known as Hajar () is the largest Governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, named after the Al-Ahsa Oasis. In Classical Arab ...
in Eastern
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. It covers an area of approximately 20.8 square kilometers (20,800,000 m²). The lake is surrounded by sand dunes and is somewhat difficult to reach. Al-Asfar Lake is one of the most important wetland shallow lakes in the region. The lake is a historic landmark of Al-Hasa, and was mentioned by some historians of the
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
and Islamic Golden Era, such as Al-Hamawi,
Al-Qalqashandi Shihāb al-Dīn Abū 'l-Abbās Aḥmad ibn ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad ‘Abd Allāh al-Fazārī al-Shāfiʿī better known by the epithet al-Qalqashandī (; 1355 or 1356 – 1418), was a medieval Arab Egyptian encyclopedist, polymath and mathemati ...
, and Al-Zamakhshari. At present, the primary source of the lake's water is agricultural drainage water, which leads some people to refer to it as semi man-made. In 2019, Al-Asfar Lake was declared a national
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
.


History

The lake has been mentioned by several historians such as Al-Hamawi and
Al-Qalqashandi Shihāb al-Dīn Abū 'l-Abbās Aḥmad ibn ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad ‘Abd Allāh al-Fazārī al-Shāfiʿī better known by the epithet al-Qalqashandī (; 1355 or 1356 – 1418), was a medieval Arab Egyptian encyclopedist, polymath and mathemati ...
. The lake is also mentioned by Al-Zamakhshari in his book ''"Kitab al-Amkinah wa al-Jibal wa al-Miyah'' ''"'', where he describes it as peaceful lake at gates of Al-Hasa. Al-Zamakhshari suggests that the naming of the historical region of Bahrayn (which includes
Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia () is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province), and the United Arab ...
and
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
and translates to English as the "two Seas") comes from its location between The Green Sea and a peaceful lake at Al-hasa.


Wildlife

Different parts of the lake reflect different type of shores that include Wet, moist, semi-dry and dry zones. The different zones may have different plant species. There are at least 39 plant species belonging to 20 families that can be identified around the lake. Fluctuating water level create very diverse conditions, which enhances the vegetation and plant species and types. Fluctuating water levels allow some vegetation types to regenerate from buried seeds. Al-Asfar Lake attract migratory birds twice a year. Birds migrate from cooler places such as Russia, Canada, India and Iran to warmer climate areas including Al-Asfar Lake. The range of birds varies from small birds such as Sparrows to large birds such as
geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...
and
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
s.


Environmental concerns

The lake water is contaminated with heavy metals, which mainly comes from agricultural water. The heavy metal level is generally higher than the international permissible limits and varies seasonally.


UNESCO site

In 2018,
Al-Ahsa Oasis Al-Ahsa Oasis (, ''al-ʾAhsā''), also known as al-Ḥasāʾ () or Hajar (), is an oasis and historical region in eastern Saudi Arabia. Al-Ahsa Governorate, which makes up much of the country's Eastern Province, is named after it. The oasis is ...
became the fifth Saudi site to be registered as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. Al-Asfar lake is one of 12 sites that were designated as World Heritage Site within Al-Hasa.


See also

*
Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
* Lake Dumat al-Jandal * Modon Lake


References

{{Reflist World Heritage Sites in Asia Nature reserves in Saudi Arabia Lakes of Saudi Arabia