Lake Moeris

Lake Moeris was an ancient <a href="/facts/Endorheic_lake/b1qMRvv1">endorheic</a> <a href="/facts/Fresh_water/xMP2TxwI">freshwater</a> lake located in the <a href="/facts/Faiyum_Oasis/su3rEQog">Faiyum Oasis</a>, 80 km (50 mi) southwest of <a href="/facts/Cairo/dXjj60ar">Cairo</a>, <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a>, which persists today at a fraction of its former size as the <a href="/facts/Hypersaline_lake/s6EfQkzE">hypersaline</a> Lake Qarun (<a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a>: بركة قارون). In <a href="/facts/Prehistory/52D6oKM4">prehistory</a> it was fed intermittently by the <a href="/facts/Nile/vGoXVUFH">Nile</a> via the ancient Hawara Channel, fluctuating in level throughout the <a href="/facts/Paleolithic/I48SMHo5">Paleolithic</a> and <a href="/facts/Neolithic/wRS0Bnh4">Neolithic</a> periods. The prehistoric Lake Moeris spanned much of the area of the modern Faiyum Oasis, with a total area estimated at between 1,270 km2 (490 sq mi) and 1,700 km2 (660 sq mi).
During the <a href="/facts/Middle_Kingdom_of_Egypt/VxM7FeSa">Middle Kingdom</a>, excavation of the Hawara Channel to create the canal now known as the <a href="/facts/Bahr_Yussef/6RPHHXc8">Bahr Yussef</a> increased the volume of inflow into Lake Moeris, and concurrent <a href="/facts/Drainage/thEd3nfB">drainage</a> and <a href="/facts/Land_reclamation/taYL4BjI">land reclamation</a> projects would see the lake exploited for agricultural purposes. Further drainage and reclamation during the early <a href="/facts/Ptolemaic_Kingdom/sAg88Lvs">Ptolemaic Kingdom</a> effectively severed Lake Moeris' direct connection to the Nile and began a gradual trend of recession that continued through the <a href="/facts/Roman_Egypt/P1wkcTmv">Roman</a>, <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">medieval</a> and <a href="/facts/Early_modern_period/hhpHM721">early modern</a> periods, resulting in the Lake Qarun of the present day. The modern lake's surface is 43 m (141 ft) below sea-level, and covers about 202 km2 (78 sq mi).
A number of <a href="/facts/Eurasia/KlLI9GDM">Eurasian</a> <a href="/facts/Water_bird/2sJ30kn6">water bird</a> species <a href="/facts/Bird_migration/GvraPhgn">migrating</a> from more northerly latitudes use Lake Qarun as a <a href="/facts/Overwintering/mnMLo6SQ">wintering ground</a>, and as such the lake and its surroundings constitute a <a href="/facts/Egyptian_Protectorates/b3GgWcJK">protected area</a> under Egyptian law. Its high salinity has led to most Nilotic <a href="/facts/Freshwater_fish/zqcg3Hmy">freshwater fish</a> species disappearing from the lake, although a number of saltwater or otherwise salt-tolerant species have been <a href="/facts/Fish_stocking/Hpe4rMAo">introduced to its waters</a> to bolster the local fishing economy; major fisheries in the area include <a href="/facts/Tilapia/AI1hJJRS">tilapia</a>, <a href="/facts/Mullet_(fish)/zjEod6Yx">mullet</a> and <a href="/facts/Sole_(fish)/DTvpq3ND">sole</a>. Lake Qarun was designated a <a href="/facts/Ramsar_site/tz4RgjpA">Ramsar site</a> in 2012.
Lake Moeris lends its name to the <a href="/facts/Extinction/24p5NP2q">extinct</a> <a href="/facts/Proboscidea/Dzk4qsH0">proboscidean</a> <a href="/facts/Mammal/phSwTzBo">mammal</a> <a href="/facts/Moeritherium/bNoUotyP">Moeritherium</a>, a distant relative of modern <a href="/facts/Elephant/6prrEFFK">elephants</a> first described from the nearby <a href="/facts/Qasr_el_Sagha_Formation/3lnHec7f">Qasr el Sagha Formation</a>.

Lake Moeris open-in-new

Lake Moeris