Sabkhat al-Jabbul
Encyclopedia
Sabkhat al-Jabbūl or Mamlahat al-Jabbūl or Lake Jabbūl is a large, traditionally seasonal, saline lake
Salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water which has a concentration of salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes . In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water, but such lakes would also be termed hypersaline lakes...

 and concurrent salt flats 30 km southeast of Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

, Syria, in the Bāb District of Aleppo Governorate
Aleppo Governorate
Aleppo Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,744,000 , almost 23% of the total population of Syria. The governorate is the fifth in area with an area of 18,482 km², about 10% of the total area of...

. It is the largest natural lake in Syria and the second largest lake after the artificial Lake Assad. In 2009 the lake covered about 100 km² (38.6 sq mi) and was relatively stable. The salt flats are extensive and can be seen from space. The area includes the Sabkhat al-Jabbul Nature Reserve, a protected waterfowl site.

Today the Sabkhat al-Jabbul exists within a closed basin, but during the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

 the basin filled, overflowed and formed a tributary of the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

. The lake traditionally flooded in the spring shrinking back during the summer and autumn. However, starting in 1988, irrigation projects on adjacent lands started discharging significant amounts of partially saline water into the basin, stabilizing the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...

 and creating the current (2009) lake of 100 km² (38.6 sq mi).

Resource use

Primary uses of the area include tourism, waterfowl hunting, livestock grazing on the surrounding steppe and salt extraction. Al-Jubbul is the major source of salt in Syria, other sources include Lake Jayrud, Rif Dimashq Governorate, to the northeast of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

 and Lake Khatuniyah (Khatunia), Al-Hasakah Governorate, to the northeast of Al-Hasakah
Al-Hasakah
Al-Hasakah...

, near the village of Al Hawi and the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i border.

Further reading

  • Evans, Michael I. (editor) (1994) Important Bird Areas in the Middle East (BirdLife Conservation Series No.2.) BirdLife International, Cambridge, England, ISBN 0-946888-28-0

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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