Medjerda River
Encyclopedia
The Mejerda River (also known as the Wadi Majardah, Wadi Mejerha, Oued Majardah, and Bagradas) is a river in Algeria
and Tunisia
. With a length of 450 km it is the longest river of Tunisia. It originates in northeastern Algeria and then flows eastwards to Tunisia, then entering the Gulf of Utica of the Mediterranean Sea
. Medjerda is Tunisia's crucial waterway providing water to the country supply facilities, it is also vital to the people living near the river. Water from Mejerda is used to irrigation
and is pivotal to the region's agriculture. It is a river in North Africa that flows from northeast Algeria
in the Atlas Mountains
460 kilometres (285.8 mi), through Tunisia before emptying in the Gulf of Tunis
and Lake of Tunis
. It is the most important and longest river in Tunisia and is dammed in several locations, being a major supplier of water to the country's wheat crops. A very strategic river in North Africa, it was fought over and settled many times in history by the Berbers
, Phoenicians, Punics
, Romans
, Vandals
, Byzantines
, Arabs, and the Ottomans. Several major cities, such as Utica
, Carthage
, and eventually Tunis
were founded on or in close proximity to it.
The Gulf of Utica was formed during the postglacial transgression about 6,000 years ago. Over time, fluvial deposits from the Mejerda gradually filled up the northern part of the gulf. The succession of events during historical times has been inferred from ancient documents and archaeological evidence. Besides morphological ground observations, aerial and satellite photographs have been used to analyze how the landscape has evolved over the past 3,000 years. The gulf's southern part was filled up in late ancient times. The sea gradually withdrew from the northern part during the Middle Ages and modern times. The Ghar el Melh lagoon is the last vestige of what used to be the Utica gulf. Following the last big flood in 1973, the Mejerda shifted, once again, its course. It now flows through a canal originally dug to evacuate the overflow of flood waters.
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. With a length of 450 km it is the longest river of Tunisia. It originates in northeastern Algeria and then flows eastwards to Tunisia, then entering the Gulf of Utica of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. Medjerda is Tunisia's crucial waterway providing water to the country supply facilities, it is also vital to the people living near the river. Water from Mejerda is used to irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
and is pivotal to the region's agriculture. It is a river in North Africa that flows from northeast Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
in the Atlas Mountains
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...
460 kilometres (285.8 mi), through Tunisia before emptying in the Gulf of Tunis
Gulf of Tunis
Gulf of Tunis is a large gulf in northeastern Tunisia. It is located at around . Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, lies at the southern edge of the Gulf, as have a series of settled places over the last three millennia....
and Lake of Tunis
Lake of Tunis
The Lake of Tunis is a natural lagoon located between the Tunisian capital city of Tunis and the Gulf of Tunis . The lake covers a total of 37 square kilometres, in contrast to its size its depth is very shallow...
. It is the most important and longest river in Tunisia and is dammed in several locations, being a major supplier of water to the country's wheat crops. A very strategic river in North Africa, it was fought over and settled many times in history by the Berbers
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
, Phoenicians, Punics
Punics
The Punics were a group of western Semitic-speaking peoples from Carthage in North Africa who traced their origins to a group of Phoenician and Cypriot settlers, but also to North African Berbers . Punics were probably a mix of Berbers and Phoenicians in terms of culture and ancestry...
, Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
, Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, Arabs, and the Ottomans. Several major cities, such as Utica
Utica, Tunisia
Utica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
, Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, and eventually Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
were founded on or in close proximity to it.
The Gulf of Utica was formed during the postglacial transgression about 6,000 years ago. Over time, fluvial deposits from the Mejerda gradually filled up the northern part of the gulf. The succession of events during historical times has been inferred from ancient documents and archaeological evidence. Besides morphological ground observations, aerial and satellite photographs have been used to analyze how the landscape has evolved over the past 3,000 years. The gulf's southern part was filled up in late ancient times. The sea gradually withdrew from the northern part during the Middle Ages and modern times. The Ghar el Melh lagoon is the last vestige of what used to be the Utica gulf. Following the last big flood in 1973, the Mejerda shifted, once again, its course. It now flows through a canal originally dug to evacuate the overflow of flood waters.