Lake Milh (, literally Sea of Salt, pronounced ''Bahr al-Milh''), also known as Razzaza Lake, is located a few miles west of
Karbala
Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
(). It is alternately called Lake Razazah (). Lake Milh is a depression into which excess water from
Lake Habbaniyah
Lake Habbaniyah ( ''Baḥīra al-Ḥabbāniya'') is a lake located halfway between Ramadi and Fallujah near Al-Taqaddum (TQ) Air Base in Al Habbaniyah in Anbar Province, Iraq.
In the late 1930s and 1940s Lake Habbaniyah was used by Imperial Air ...
, which comes from the
Euphrates River
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
, is diverted through a controlled escape channel or canal. The lake is listed as a wetland of international importance.
The lake is rather shallow and water levels change with the seasons. Due to the salts and the changing water levels, this largest freshwater lake in Iraq has lost its important stock of fish species and only a few recreational areas exist around the lake.
Geography
The lake, also termed as "Kerbala Gap” has a large expanse of enclosed by deserts with a few low hills on the shore line. The lake and its surrounding areas lie in an elevation range of . It is a deep closed lake in a sand/silt basin. The lake's western part of the valley has thick forest cover, apart from orchards. In the eastern and southern parts, the terrain is of flat arid/semi-desert type. Mud flats are a common feature in the lake.[
The geological formation in and around the lake consists of marls, siltstones, gypsum/anhydrite, and limestone bands, but mostly silts.][
The lake is at a distance of to the south-west of ]Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
,[ and to the west of Karbala in the Karbala Governorate.
]
History
The lake was constructed during the latter half of the 1970s, below the Haur Al Habbaniya as a flood control measure to regulate the flood flows in the Euphrates River
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
.[
]
Features
The lake is fed from the excess flood flows diverted from the Majora escape of the Habbaniya Lake. The flow from the escape is diverted through the Sin-Al-Thibban Canal, which is a narrow channel that is aligned through a semi-desert area.[ This diversion prevents flooding in the northern areas. The salinity of the lake is increasing as result of inadequate supply of water from the link canal.][ According to a ]USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
study of Landsat imagery of the area it is noted that the water level of the shallow lake fluctuates with the seasons, and in recent years of 1995, 2003, and 2013 the area of the lake has reduced considerably. The local people said that the water depth in the lake was reduced to about since 1993, during the regime of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
. The reason for this reduction in area is mainly due to inadequate diversion of water from Habbaniya Lake, where the priority of use is irrigation.[ Diversion has been limited to once in 15 days only. This has also affected fishing operations in the lake which in the past used to be throughout the year. As a result, the only fish species surviving in the lake is reported to be "al-Shanik"][
or Shanak, (''Acanthopagrus cf. arabicus'') of marine origin, stocked in the lake by the government.][ During the ]Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
the area was a military establishment.[
]
Vegetation
The vegetation around the periphery of the lake consists of ''Aeluropus lagapoides
''Aeluropus'' is a genus of Eurasian and African plants in the grass family, found primarily in desert regions.
; Species
* ''Aeluropus badghyzii'' Tzvelev - Turkmenistan
* ''Aeluropus laciniatus'' Khodash. - Iran
* '' Aeluropus lagopoides'' (L. ...
'', ''Juncus acutus
''Juncus acutus'', the spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush, is a flowering plant in the monocot family Juncaceae found throughout the Americas, Northern and Southern Africa, Western and Southern Europe and West Asia.
It grows in salt m ...
'', ''Phragmites australis
''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall.
Description
''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...
'', ''Salicornia herbacea
''Salicornia europaea'', known as common glasswort or just glasswort, is a halophyte, halophytic annual dicot flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. Glasswort is a succulent herb also known as ‘Pickle weed’ or ‘Samphire, Marsh samph ...
'', and ''Schoenoplectus littoralis
''Schoenoplectus'' (club-rush ld World species bulrush or tule ew World species is a genus of plants in the sedges with a cosmopolitan distribution. Note that the name bulrush is also applied to species in the unrelated genus ''Typha'' as well ...
''. Also reported are shrub-lands made up of desert species of '' Haloxylon salicornicum'', ''Nitraria retusa
''Nitraria retusa'', commonly known as Nitre bush, is a salt-tolerant and drought-resistant shrub in the family Nitrariaceae. It can grow to heights of , although it seldom exceeds more than 1 m in height. It produces small white/green colou ...
'', '' Prosopis farcta'', '' Tamarix aucherana'', ''Tamarix macrocarpa
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamb ...
'', and ''Zygophyllum fabago
''Zygophyllum fabago'' is a species of plant known by the common name Syrian bean-caper. It is considered a Noxious weeds, noxious weed of economic importance in much of the western United States. It is native to Asia and East Europe (Russia and ...
''.[
]
Fauna
The lake area has a large number of wintering waterfowl. Some of the species reported are ''Marmaronetta angustirostris
The marbled duck, or marbled teal (''Marmaronetta angustirostris'') is a medium-sized species of duck from southern Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia. The scientific name, ''Marmaronetta angustirostris'', comes from the Greek ...
'', ''Podiceps cristatus
The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display.
Taxonomy
The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...
'', ''Podiceps nigricollis
The black-necked grebe or eared grebe (''Podiceps nigricollis'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. There are currently three accepted subspecies, including the nominate subspecie ...
'', ''Phalacrocorax carbo
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...
'', ''Pelecanus onocrotalus
The great white pelican (''Pelecanus onocrotalus'') also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes. ...
'', ''Mergellus albellus
The smew (''Mergellus albellus'') is a species of duck, and is the only living member of the genus ''Mergellus''. ''Mergellus'' is a diminutive of '' Mergus'' and ''albellus'' is from Latin ''albus'' "white". This genus is closely related to ' ...
'' and ''Fulica atra
The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...
''. According to a survey 42 bird species have been recorded.[
The mammal species reported are the: ]Rüppell's fox
Rüppell's fox (''Vulpes rueppellii''), also called Rüppell's sand fox, is a fox species living in desert and semi-desert regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and southwestern Asia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List s ...
(''Vulpes rueppellii''), 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 creamy y ...
(''Canis aureus''), Indian grey mongoose
The Indian grey mongoose (''Urva edwardsii'') is a mongoose species native to the Indian subcontinent and West Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, scrublands and cultivated field ...
(''Urva edwardsii''), jungle cat
The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littora ...
(''Felis chaus''), and wild cat
Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the do ...
(''Felis silvestris'').[
]
See also
*Lake Tharthar
Lake Tharthar (also Therthar), and known in Iraq as Buhayrat ath-Tharthar ( ar, بحيرة الثرثار), is an artificial lake opened in 1956, situated 100 kilometers (62 mi) northwest of Baghdad between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers.
H ...
*Lake Habbaniyah
Lake Habbaniyah ( ''Baḥīra al-Ḥabbāniya'') is a lake located halfway between Ramadi and Fallujah near Al-Taqaddum (TQ) Air Base in Al Habbaniyah in Anbar Province, Iraq.
In the late 1930s and 1940s Lake Habbaniyah was used by Imperial Air ...
*Lake Qadisiyah
A man-made reservoir in Al-Anbar, Iraq, Lake Qadisiyah ( ar, بحيرة القادسية) sits on the north side of the Haditha Dam.
Qadisiyah was formed by the damming of the Euphrates river above Haditha, Iraq. It has of shoreline and provide ...
*List of dams and reservoirs in Iraq
The following is a list of dams and reservoirs in Iraq. They are sorted according to their location in either the Euphrates or the Tigris river basin.
Dams in the Euphrates basin
*Duban Regulator, on the Euphrates, regulating the flow of the Eu ...
*Mosul Dam
Mosul Dam ( ar, سد الموصل), formerly known as Saddam Dam (), is the largest dam in Iraq. It is located on the Tigris river in the western governorate of Nineveh, upstream of the city of Mosul. The dam serves to generate hydroelectricity ...
*Wildlife of Iraq The wildlife of Iraq includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Iraq has multiple biomes which include the mountainous region in north to the wet marshlands along the Euphrates river. The western part of the country comprises mainly de ...
References
Bibliography
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{{Iraq topics
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