Malta - Rabat - Wied il-Qlejgha - Chadwick Lakes 05 ies

Chadwick are a number of dams, pouring into each other, on the island of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. The area is locally known as Wied il-Qlejgħa (Qliegħa Valley). Their location extends from Qliegħa Valley in the limits of

Mtarfa Mtarfa () is a small town in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 2,572 as of March 2014. It was considered to be a suburb of Rabat until 2000, when it became a separate local council. History A number of historic silos were disc ...

and

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

, to Għasel Valley (

Wied il-Għasel Wied il-Għasel () is a valley in Mosta, in the Northern Region of Malta. Several caves are located within the valley, one of which is occupied by the small Chapel of St. Paul the Hermit. The Victoria lines The Victoria Lines, originally kn ...

) in the peripheries of

Mosta Mosta () is a small but densely populated city in the Northern Region of Malta. The most prominent building in Mosta is the Rotunda, a large basilica built by its parishioners' volunteer labour. It features the world's 3rd largest unsupported ...

. It consists of a complex system of well-planned small dams, draining into Speranza Valley, and then into the sea at Salina Bay.

History

The lakes are formed behind a number of dams constructed by Sir Osbert Chadwick, a British engineer, in the late 19th century. The water drains into Wied Speranza and ends at the sea at Salina Bay. The valley provides farmers with water to irrigate their land. Wied il-Qliegħa is only full during the winter months. During this period, the lakes are abundant with life. Biodiversity includes several indigenous plants, insects, tadpoles/frogs and crustaceans. Chadwick Lakes lie along Malta's only freshwater stream big enough to be called a rivulet, providing a tranquil environment for people to enjoy. In February 2009, Matthew Psaila a 19 year old gunner, drowned during an

Armed Forces of Malta The Armed Forces of Malta () is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate regiments, with minimal air and naval forces. Since Malta is the ...

training exercise in Wied il-Qliegħa. This particular exercise is part of the C Company's training syllabus and had been practiced for several years. As of 2018, Chadwick Lakes has been a site of particular interest to biodiversity and conservation specialists as the presence of alien species of

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

is putting significant pressure on the local environment via predation and

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

References

Valleys of Malta Rabat, Malta Mtarfa {{Malta-geo-stub