Lake El Rayan is a lake located within the

Wadi El Rayan Wadi El Rayan is a unique nature protectorate in Faiyum Governorate, Egypt, under the supervision of the Ministry of Environmental Affairs (EEAA). History Wadi el Rayan is mentioned in Coptic sources as Pilihēy (), a salt lake west of Kalam ...

Protected Area in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It covers an area of 52.9 square kilometers and consists of two lakes connected by a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

area. The lake is an important source of fish resources.

Geography

Lake El Rayan is located in the southwestern region of the Fayoum Governorate, situated within the

Western Desert In Egypt, the Western Desert is an area of the Sahara that lies west of the river Nile, up to the Libyan border, and south from the Mediterranean Sea to the border with Sudan. It is named in contrast to the Eastern Desert which extends east fro ...

. It is situated approximately 25 kilometers to the south of the city.

project commenced in October 1968, following an increase in the water level of

Lake Qarun Lake Moeris (, genitive Μοίριδος) was an ancient endorheic freshwater lake located in the Faiyum Oasis, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, which persists today at a fraction of its former size as the hypersaline Lake Qarun (Arabic: بركة قا ...

, which posed a threat to the infrastructure constructed around it. This infrastructure was designed to serve as a reservoir for agricultural drainage water in

Fayoum Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location. Name and etymology Originally f ...

. The project was concluded in January 1973, with the initial transfer of agricultural drainage water. The project encompasses the construction of a 5.9-kilometer-long canal extending from the periphery of the governorate to the desert boundary. This is followed by the establishment of a covered canal measuring 5 kilometers in length and 3 meters in width at the Buqayrat Plateau, which ultimately discharges into the lake. It is estimated that approximately 200 million cubic meters of agricultural drainage water enters the Rayan depressions on an annual basis. The lake is divided into two sections: an upper lake with an area of 50.90 square kilometers, a salinity of approximately 5.1 grams per liter, and a maximum depth of 22 meters; and a lower lake with an area of 6,200 hectares. The two lakes are connected by the waterfalls area, where the water level reaches up to 20 meters. This region is notable for its high fish density.

Fishing industry

The waters of the Rayan depressions are classified as semi-fresh, with the majority of fish production comprising Nile fish. However, the mullet and bass families are transported to the lakes as fry from Egypt's coastal areas. The principal fish species observed in El-Rayan depressions include mullet, white

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically mos ...

Zander The zander (''Sander lucioperca''), sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the Family (biology), family Percidae, which also includes perch, Gymnocephalus, ruffe and Darter (fish), darter. It is found in freshwater and brackis ...

, and carp

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. There are five fish collection centers in the Rayan wetlands, three of which are located in the first depression and two in the third. The fishing season in the Rayan wetlands is approximately 200 days in duration. It is estimated that the seasonal production of the Rayan wetlands is approximately 1,100 to 1,200 tons of fish. The area is home to a solar-powered ice factory in Wadi El Rayan, which operates through photovoltaic cells. This factory is only operational during the fishing season in the Rayan wetlands and serves the fish marketing project in the governorate, as well as the Rayan and Qarun associations.

Tourism

In addition to its function as a conduit for the disposal of agricultural wastewater, Lake El Rayan, situated within a verdant valley and surrounded by cascading

waterfalls A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

, represents a notable tourist destination. Furthermore, the region's biodiversity, exemplified by the presence of rare wildlife on Mount Rayan.Wadi El-Rayan Reserve in Fayoum
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References

{{reflist Lakes of Egypt Faiyum Governorate

Geography

Fishing industry

Tourism

See also

References