The Meliane River (وادي مليان), also known as Oued Miliane is a

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 onl ...

that flows into the

Gulf of Tunis The Gulf of Tunis () is a large Mediterranean bay in north-eastern Tunisia, extending for from Cape Farina in the west to Cape Bon in the east. Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, lies at the south-western edge of the Gulf, as have a series of ...

located in the North Eastern coast of

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. The River starts near Djebel Bargou(جبل برقو) mountains and drains a watershed of about 2000 km². Méliane wadi , Tunisia
The Oued Miliane has a number of

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

including Oued el Hamma, and is the second longest course perennial river in the country after the

Medjerda The Medjerda River ( ar, وادي مجردة), the classical Bagrada, is a river in North Africa flowing from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before emptying into the Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis. With a length of , it is the longest river ...

Geography

It takes its source in the mountains of Jebel Bargou, peaking at 1280 meters, and flows into the Gulf of Tunis between the towns of Radès and Ezzahra . It has a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of 2283 km 2 in a relatively watered medium (400 to 450 millimeters of annual rainfall) and is joined by

Wadi Kabir Wadi Kabir (means Great Valley in English) is a township near to Ruwi in Muscat, in northeastern Oman.National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United Sta ...

(upstream) and Wadi El Hamma (downstream). The rivers flow is irregular, up to 200 m 3 / s during

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

s , but it is one of the few rivers in Tunisia maintained flow during the summer, as recalled in the etymological sense of

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

, meaning Miliane "full". It is characterized by high load alluvial estimated at 25 grams per liter, which corresponds to 1.5 million tonnes of

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

s carried each year. This helped to fertilize the plain of Mornag (a rich agricultural region south of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

dedicated to

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or s ...

ing and

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

), but also to participate in the closing of the Tunis Lake and the birth of a cord of dunes on coastline between Rades and

Hammam Lif Hammam-Lif ( ar, حمام الأنف, pronounced hammam linf) is a coastal town about 20 km south-east of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. It has been known since antiquity for its thermal springs originating in Mount Bou Kornine. History ...

. The bed of the river has moved over the last centuries. The Bir Mcherga Dam is on the river.

References

{{coord, 36, 46, N, 10, 17, E, display=title, region:TN_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Miliane