Chott Melrhir

Chott Melrhir
Chott Melrhir
	View from space. Note that most of the lake is already dried up in this picture.
	Chott Melrhir
Coordinates	34°20′N 6°20′E / 34.333°N 6.333°E
Type	Endorheic salt lake
Catchment area	68,750 km2 (26,540 sq mi)
Basin countries	Algeria
Surface area	6,700 km2 (2,600 sq mi)
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Chott Melghir
Designated	4 June 2003
Reference no.	1296

Chott Melrhir (Arabic: شط ملغيغ) also known as Chott Melghir or Chott Melhir is an endorheic chott-kind of salt lake in northeastern Algeria. It is the westernmost part of a series of depressions, which extend from the Gulf of Gabès into the Sahara. They were created between Miocene and Early Pleistocene as a result of compression accompanying the formation of the Atlas Mountains.^[5] With the maximum area of about 6,700 km² (2,600 sq mi), it is the largest lake in Algeria.^[3] It lies almost entirely below sea level and contains the lowest point in Algeria, −40 meters (−130 feet).^[6] Its size varies over the year and is usually larger than 130 km (81 mi) from east to west.^[7] The nearby cities are Biskra (60 km north-west), El Oued and Touggourt (85 km south).^[8]

^ Benkhaled A.; Bouziane M.T.; Achour B. (June 2008). "Detecting trends in annual discharge and precipitation in the Chott Melghir basin in Southeastern Algeria" (PDF). Larhyss Journal. 7: 103–119. ISSN 1112-3680. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-14.
^ Cite error: The named reference gov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b В. М. Котляков Мельгир (Chott Melrhir)^{[permanent dead link]}, Словарь современных географических названий (Dictionary of modern geographical names), 2003–2006
^ "Chott Melghir". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^ Andrew Goudie (2002) Great Warm Deserts of the World: Landscapes and Evolution, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-924515-0, p. 113
^ CIA World Factbook 2010 ISBN 1-60239-727-9, p. 10
^ Chott Melrhir, Encyclopædia Britannica on-line
^ Robert Mepham, R. H. Hughes, J. S. Hughes (1992) A Directory of African Wetlands, IUCN, ISBN 2-88032-949-3 pp. 23–24

[j1-1] Benkhaled A.; Bouziane M.T.; Achour B. (June 2008). "Detecting trends in annual discharge and precipitation in the Chott Melghir basin in Southeastern Algeria" (PDF). Larhyss Journal. 7: 103–119. ISSN 1112-3680. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-14.

[gov-2] Cite error: The named reference gov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[bse-3] В. М. Котляков Мельгир (Chott Melrhir)^{[permanent dead link]}, Словарь современных географических названий (Dictionary of modern geographical names), 2003–2006

[4] "Chott Melghir". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.

[5] Andrew Goudie (2002) Great Warm Deserts of the World: Landscapes and Evolution, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-924515-0, p. 113

[6] CIA World Factbook 2010 ISBN 1-60239-727-9, p. 10

[brit-7] Chott Melrhir, Encyclopædia Britannica on-line

[b1-8] Robert Mepham, R. H. Hughes, J. S. Hughes (1992) A Directory of African Wetlands, IUCN, ISBN 2-88032-949-3 pp. 23–24

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