Chott Melrhir () also known as Chott Melghir or Chott Melhir is an endorheic

chott In geology, a chott, shott, or shatt (; ar, شط, šaṭṭ, lit=bank, coast) is a salt lake in Africa's Maghreb that stays dry for much of the year but receives some water in the winter. The elevation of a chott surface is controlled by the pos ...

-kind of salt lake in northeastern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

. It is the westernmost part of a series of depressions, which extend from the Gulf of Gabès into the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. They were created between

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

and Early Pleistocene as a result of compression accompanying the formation of the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

. With the maximum area of about , it is the largest lake in Algeria.В. М. Котляко�
Мельгир (Chott Melrhir)
Словарь современных географических названий (Dictionary of modern geographical names), 2003–2006 It lies almost entirely below sea level and contains the lowest point in Algeria, . Its size varies over the year and is usually larger than from east to west.Chott Melrhir
Encyclopædia Britannica on-line The nearby cities are

Biskra Biskra ( ar, بسكرة ; ; Latin Vescera) is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about 248 miles (400 km) from Algiers, 71 miles (115&n ...

(60 km north-west), El Oued and Touggourt (85 km south).Robert Mepham, R. H. Hughes, J. S. Hughes (1992
''A Directory of African Wetlands''
IUCN, pp. 23–24

Hydrology, geology and geography

During the rain season in winter, the lake is filled by numerous

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet ( ephemeral) riverbed that contains water on ...

(periodically drying rivers), mostly from north and north-west. The largest of them are the Djedi and Arab running from west to east down the slopes of Aurès Mountains. Others include Abiod, Beggour Mitta,

, Bir Az Atrous, Cheria, Demmed, Dermoun, Derradj, Djedeida, Djemorah, Halail, Horchane, Ittel, Mechra, Melh, Mzi, Messad, Oum El Ksob, Soukies, Tadmit and Zeribet. In summer, the lake and most of the rivers feeding it dry out, and Chott Melrhir turns into a salt pan. The annual water evaporation varies between 9.6 and 20 km³, and evaporation from soil nearby the lake can reach 14 km³. Chott Melrhir is separated from the nearby Chott Meorouane, which lies south-west, by a stripe of permanently dry land which can be as narrow as 4 kilometers in some places. The bottom of the lake is mostly composed of

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and dr ...

and mud and is covered in salt in summer. The lake emits a garlic-like odor. Although the dry soil in and around the lake appears arable, it is nearly barren due to the high concentration of salt. For the same reason, the soil absorbs much condensation overnight that keeps it partly humid during much of the day.

Climate

The climate in the Chott Melrhir is hot and arid with high evaporation and low precipitation. The average lowest and highest temperatures are 11.4 and 34.2 °C, respectively, and the minimum temperature is about 0 °C. Annual precipitation is below 160 mm. The winds have a speed between 2.7 and 5.3 m/s and are mostly directed south-east between June and September and north-west between autumn and early spring. Sandstorms are more frequent in winter and late summer and last 39 days per year on average.

Flora and fauna

The shallow waters of the lake contain scarce vegetation composed of 72 species of plants which have adapted to salty water, such as sea lavender ('' Limonium''), rushes ('' Juncus''), glasswort ('' Salicornia''), ''

Sarcocornia ''Sarcocornia'' is a formerly recognized genus of flowering plants in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae. Species are known commonly as samphires, glassworts, or saltworts. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that when separated from '' Sal ...

'', bulrush ('' Scirpus'') and seepweeds ('' Suaeda''). Some species are unique for Algeria and 14 are endemic, such as ''Fagonia microphylla'', ''Oudneya africana'', ''Zygophyllum cornutum'', ''Limoniastrum feii'' and ''Ammosperma cinerea''.Chott Melghir
, Ministere de l'Agriculture. Direction Generale des Forets (in French) They grown up to 30 cm in height and host relatively rich avifauna, mostly ducks, sandgrouse, houbara bustard (''Chlamydotis undulata'') and greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus''). Lake waters are saturated with salt with concentrations reaching 0.4 kg/L and sustain only few animal species, such as brine shrimp. Wild boars,

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale crea ...

s, hares and foxes were observed around the lake. In June 2003, Chott Melrhir was included to the

List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance This is the list of Wetlands of International Importance as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scienti ...

.The List of Wetlands of International Importance
p. 5

References

External links

A detailed report on the lake by the Ministry of Agriculture of Algeria with the map of the area
(in French) {{Authority control Lakes of Algeria Endorheic lakes of Africa Ramsar sites in Algeria Lowest points