Lake Nasser

Lake Nasser
View from Abu Simbel
Map showing the location of the lake
Coordinates
Lake type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Nile
Primary outflows	Nile
Basin countries	Egypt, Sudan
Max. length	550 km (340 mi)
Max. width	35 km (22 mi)
Surface area	5,250 km2 (2,030 sq mi)
Average depth	25.2 m (83 ft)
Max. depth	180 m (590 ft)
Water volume	132 km3 (32 cu mi)
Shore length1	7,844 km (25,735,000 ft)
Surface elevation	183 m (600 ft)
References
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Nasser (Arabic: بحيرة ناصر‎‎ Boħēret Nāṣer, Egyptian Arabic: [boˈħeːɾet ˈnɑːsˤeɾ]) is a vast reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world.

Strictly, "Lake Nasser" refers only to the much larger portion of the lake that is in Egyptian territory (83% of the total), with the Sudanese preferring to call their smaller body of water Lake Nubia (Egyptian Arabic: بحيرة النوبة Boħēret Nubeyya, [boˈħeːɾet nʊˈbejjæ]). The area of Sudan-administered Wadi Halfa Salient was largely flooded by Lake Nasser.

Description

The lake is some 550 km (340 mi) long and 35 km (22 mi) across at its widest point, which is near the Tropic of Cancer. It covers a total surface area of 5,250 km² (2,030 sq mi) and has a storage capacity of some 132 km³ (32 cu mi) of water.

The lake was created as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam across the waters of the Nile between 1958 and 1971. The lake is named after Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and the second President of Egypt, who initiated the High Dam project.

Sport

Fishing among tourists, especially for Nile perch, has become increasingly popular, both on the shore and from boats, as the west bank of the Lake contains more nutrients compared to the east bank. About 100 species of bird have been recorded in the lake.

Although the Abu Simbel temples were physically removed to a different site to spare their destruction by the new lake, other ancient Egyptian sites like the massive fortress of Buhen were flooded and are now at the bottom of the lake.

Panorama

Panorama of Lake Nasser

External links

• Lake Nasser, Egypt at the NASA Earth Observatory
• Lake Nasser at Encyclopædia Britannica
• 360 panorama of the lake