Lake Burullus

Coordinates: 31°29′N 30°52′E / 31.483°N 30.867°E / 31.483; 30.867

Map of Lake Burullus from the early 19th century.

Lake Burullus (anciently called λίμνη Σεβεννυτική)[1] is a brackish water lake in the Nile Delta in Egypt. It is located in Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate east of Rosetta, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea in the north and agricultural land to the south.

Hydrology

It is considered to be a lake and wetlands site of International importance for birds under the Ramsar Convention. Agriculture drainage water accounts for 97% of the total inflow to the lake (3.9 billion m3 per year), followed by rain water (2%) and groundwater (1%). 16% of the lake's water evaporates and 84% flows to the sea.

Wildlife

According to a Biodiversity Report of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency 33 species of fish, 23 species of reptiles, 112 species of birds, and 18 species of mammals live in and around the lake. Fish species declined from 52 recorded at the beginning of the 20th century, mostly due to the inflow of agricultural drainage into the lake resulting in lower salinity.[2]

References

  1.  Smith, William, ed. (1857). "Sebennytus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography 2. London: John Murray. p. 946.
  2. Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency:Egypt State of the Environment Report 2007, Chapter on Biodiversity, 2008, accessed on November 8, 2009

External links

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