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Lake Nasser

From Wikipedia
Lake Nasser
reservoir
Native labelبحيرة ناصر Edit
Impounded byAswan High Dam Edit
InflowsNile Edit
OutflowsNile Edit
Drainage basinNile basin Edit
CountryEgypt, Sudan Edit
Edey de administrative territorial entity insydAswan Governorate Edit
Coordinate location22°30′0″N 31°51′36″E Edit
Derivative workToshka Depression Edit
Map

Lake Nasser (Arabic: بحيرة ناصر Boħeiret Nāṣer, Egyptian Arabic: [boˈħeiɾet ˈnɑːseɾ]) be a large reservoir for southern Egypt den northern Sudan insyd. De construction of de Aswan High Dam create am den e be one of de largest man-made lakes for de world insyd.[1] Before ein creation, de project face opposition from Sudan as e go encroach for land top for de northern part of de country insyd, wey many Nubian people live wey go get to be resettled.[2][3] For de end insyd Sudan ein land near de area of Lake Nasser mostly flood by de lake.[4] De lake becam an important economic resource for Egypt insyd, wey e improve agriculture den touting robust fishing den tourism industries.

Strictly speaking, Lake Nasser dey refer only to de much larger portion of de lake dat be for Egyptian territory insyd (83% of de total), plus de Sudanese wey dey prefer to call demma smaller body of water Lake Nubia (Egyptian Arabic: بحيرة النوبية Boħēret Nubeya, [boˈħeːɾet nʊˈbejjæ]).[5]

Physical characteristics

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Satellite image of Lake Nasser

De lake be sam 479 km (298 mi) long den 16 km (9.9 mi) across at ein widest point, wey dey near de Tropic of Cancer. E dey cover a total surface area of 5,250 km2 (2,030 sq mi) den get a storage capacity of sam 132 km3 (32 cu mi) of water.[6]

History

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Before de Aswan High Dam den Lake Nasser

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Before de construction of de Aswan High Dam den de consequent creation of de Lake Nasser, de area dat de lake rydee dey occupy be a significant part of de region of Nubia, home to several pharaohs of Egypt den empires such as dat of de Kush.[7]

Construction of de Aswan High Dam 1960-1970

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Aswan High Dam

De construction of de Aswan High Dam begin for 1960 insyd at de behest of Lake Nasser ein namesake den de second presido of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser. E be Presido Anwar Sadat wey inaugurate de lake den dam for 1971 insyd.[8] Wey dem finish for 1970 insyd, dem build de Aswan High Dam across de Nile to replace de insufficient Aswan Low Dam wey dem build for 1902 insyd. De goals of de High Dam den de reservoir wey e create, Lake Nasser, wer to create a more stable source of water, to increase agricultural production, den to produce electricity give Egypt.[9]

Controversies

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De construction of de Aswan High Dam den Nasser Lake be host to several controversies wey relate to ein effects for de environment top den dem pippoe wey dey live for de affected area insyd.

Displacement of Nubians

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As a result of de construction of Aswan High Dam den de subsequent filling of Nasser Lake, dem force tens of thousands of native Nubians to relocate from demma homes den migrate elsewhere.[10] Though sam be already able to resettle for de shores of de new lake top, demma original homes already flood den e lose to de lake.

Flooding of ancient ruins den monuments

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De construction of de Aswan High Dam den Nasser Lake spark an international movement to preserve de history of de region. Sekof de filling of de new Lake Nasser, much of de region go flood den as such, de ancient monuments den artifacts dat lay dey go dey lose already. Sekof dis, dem make an international effort to rescue den relocate many of de ancient sites den artifacts wey dem threaten am wey culminate for de International Campaign to Save de Monuments of Nubia insyd wey UNESCO lead am.[11] Though dem save den relocate many sites such as de temples of Kalabsha, Wadi es-Sebua, den Amada, sam sites such as de fortress of Buhen wey dem no able to rescue den rydee dey rest underwater for de lake insyd.[12] De most famous of dem dat dem rescue be temples at Abu Simbel wey dem break down den relocate safely off de coast of Lake Nasser.[13][14]

Ecological ramifications

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De damming of de Nile cam plus several ecological consequences as dem interrupt de natural flow den processes of de river. One effect already be de interruption of de flow of sediments downstream of de dam, wey since ancient times provide many of de nutrients wey dem need give agriculture downstream. Consequently, dem already force Egyptian farmers to resort to mineral fertilizers to maintain arable land give growing crops. De habitat of several native animal species past Lake Nasser den de Aswan High Dam, such as dat of de Nile crocodile, dem sanso affect am greatly as de reduction of water levels dat cam plus de construction of de dam render dem habitats uninhabitable.[15]

Ecological impacts

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By providing a reliable source of water give irrigation den agriculture year-round instead of de seasonal den unpredictable floods of de Nile River, Lake Nasser provide a large boon to de agricultural industry of de Egyptian economy. De agricultural industry dey employ about 25% of Egypt ein population. Plus de creation of a more stable water supply for Lake Nasser insyd, Egypt ein arable land increase by about 30%.[16]

Being home to 52 different species of fish wey several different species of tilapia dominate am wey dey make up de vast majority of catches,[17] as well as de popular Nile perch, Lake Nasser develop a robust fishing industry plus thousands of fishing boats wey dey sail de lake den fish processing facilities dotting ein shores.[18]

Lake Nasser becam a popular tourist destination give recreational fishing, sightseeing cruises, den de many relocated monuments dem save from de initial filling of Lake Nasser, especially examples such as de Abu Simbel temples.[19]

De Aswan High Dam wey dey hold Lake Nasser dey produce about 2.1 gigawatts of hydroelectricity, wey dey provide a significant percentage of Egypt ein electricity needs (up to half wen dem plete am for 1970 insyd).[20]

Current den future issues

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Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

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Plus de beginning of construction of de Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for 2011 insyd, Egypt dey face de threat of water shortage as de new upstream dam go reduce de amount of water wey dey flow downstream to Lake Nasser. As dis flow of water from de Nile into Egypt den Sudan dey constitute a major part for demma economy insyd, ein reduction sekof de construction of de GERD fi potentially dey devastate give de nations. De project be about 90% wey dem complete by 2023; staged filling of de reservoir begin for 2020 insyd. De GERD already begin dey affect Egypt as e reduce de flow of water down de Nile River den decrease available agricultural land give de country.[21] If Egypt, Sudan, den Ethiopia dey unable to work out possible solutions give dis water problem, de GERD fi pose an existential threat to Lake Nasser, wey e get a destabilizing effect for Egypt den Sudan top wey dey rely for am top give many sectors for demma economies insyd.[22]

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ↑ "Aswan High Dam, River Nile, Sudan, Egypt". Water Technology. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Scudder, Thayer (2 September 2016). Aswan High Dam Resettlement of Egyptian Nubians. Springer. ISBN 9789811019357. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Sofer, Amon (1999). Rivers of Fire: The Conflict Over Water in the Middle East. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 36. ISBN 9780847685110.
  4. ↑ "Governorates of Egypt". Statoids Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids"). Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Roest, F.C.; Crul, R. C. M. (1995). Current Status of Fisheries and Fish Stocks of the Four Largest African Reservoirs: Kainji, Kariba, Nasser/Nubia and Volta. Food & Agriculture Org. p. 81. ISBN 9789251036839.
  6. ↑ Muala, Eric; Mohamed, Yasir A.; Duan, Zheng; van der Zaag, Pieter (13 August 2014). "Estimation of Reservoir Discharges from Lake Nasser and Roseires Reservoir in the Nile Basin Using Satellite Altimetry and Imagery Data". Remote Sensing. 6 (8): 7526. Bibcode:2014RemS....6.7522M. doi:10.3390/rs6087522.
  7. ↑ "About Nubia". Nubian Foundation (in American English). 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  8. ↑ Encyclopedia of Architectural and Engineering Feats. ABC-CLIO. 2001. p. 23. ISBN 9781576071120. president nasser, high dam project.
  9. ↑ "Aswan Dam Completed". education.nationalgeographic.org (in English). Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  10. ↑ Beddis, R. A. (1963). "The Aswan High Dam and the Resettlement of the Nubian People". Geography. 48 (1): 77–80. ISSN 0016-7487. JSTOR 40565511.
  11. ↑ Hassan, Fekri A. (2007). "The Aswan High Dam and the International Rescue Nubia Campaign". The African Archaeological Review. 24 (3/4): 73–94. doi:10.1007/s10437-007-9018-5. ISSN 0263-0338. JSTOR 40743449.
  12. ↑ Gohary, Jocelyn (1998). Guide to the Nubian Monuments on Lake Nasser (in English). American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 978-977-424-462-9.
  13. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Working Together: Abu Simbel". UNESCO World Heritage Centre (in English). Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  14. ↑ "Rescuing Abu Simbel". The New York Times (in English). Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  15. ↑ Bunbury, Judith; Cooper, John P.; Hoath, Richard; Ikram, Salima; Johnston, Christine; Schneider, Thomas (2023). "The Egyptian Nile: human transformation of an ancient river". unesdoc.unesco.org: 43–77. doi:10.54677/mdjn3102. hdl:10871/132212. ISBN 978-92-3-100540-4. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  16. ↑ "Fueled by the Nile". earthobservatory.nasa.gov (in English). 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  17. ↑ Crul, R. C. M.; Roest, F. C. (1995). Current Status of Fisheries and Fish Stocks of the Four Largest African Reservoirs: Kainji, Kariba, Nasser/Nubia and Volta (in English). Food & Agriculture Org. p. 81. ISBN 978-92-5-103683-9.
  18. ↑ Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture, ed. (2011). Review of tropical reservoirs and their fisheries: the cases of Lake Nasser, Lake Volta and Indo-Gangetic Basin reservoir (PDF). FAO fisheries and aquaculture technical paper. Rome: FAO. pp. 39–84. ISBN 978-92-5-106741-3.
  19. ↑ "Restored Abu Simbel Keeps Ancient Grandeur". The New York Times (in English). Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  20. ↑ "Aswan High Dam". earthobservatory.nasa.gov (in English). 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  21. ↑ MENAFN. "Egyptian agriculture crisis worsens, mainly due to lack of water". menafn.com (in English). Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  22. ↑ Attia, Hana; Saleh, Mona (2021). The Political Deadlock on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Report). German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA).
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