Ḥammār, Lake

Ḥammār, Lake
Arabic Hawr al-Ḥammār

Large swampy lake, southeastern Iraq.

Lying south of the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and fed by distributaries of the Euphrates, the lake is some 750 sq mi (2,000 sq km) in area; it drains through a short channel into the Shatt al-Arab near Al-Basrah. It was once a reed-filled marshland but was later used for irrigating the delta region. Home to the Madan, or Marsh Arabs, a tribe of seminomadic marsh dwellers, it was partially drained in 1992 by the Iraqi government in an attempt to drive out Shīite guerrillas who had taken refuge there. By 1993 one-third of the lake was dry, and thousands of its residents had fled deeper into the marshes or to Iran.

* * *

lake, Iraq
Arabic  Hawr Al-ḥammār,  

      large swampy lake in southeastern Iraq, south of the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Fed by distributaries of the Euphrates, the lake (70 miles [110 km] long; 750 square miles [1,950 square km] in area) drains via a short channel into the Shatt al-Arab near Basra. It was once only a reed-filled marshland but was later utilized as a natural irrigation reservoir for the fertile soils of the delta region, where dates, rice, and cotton were grown. The lake and surrounding marshlands are the traditional home of the Maʿdan, a tribe of seminomadic marsh dwellers who are sometimes referred to as Marsh Arabs. Their distinctive culture is based on the herding of water buffalo, the hunting of wildfowl and pigs from reed canoes, and the building of elaborate houses of woven reeds (Arabic: mudhīf). The structures have Gothic-appearing arches made of bundles of reeds fastened together at the top; the walls are woven in intricate patterns of reeds. A 4th-millennium-BC plaque from the Sumerian city of Uruk on the western edge of the marshes depicts such a structure, showing the longevity of the style.

      In 1992 the Iraqi government began draining the country's southern marshlands in an attempt to drive out Shīʿite guerrillas who had taken refuge there. By 1993 one-third of Lake Ḥammār was dry and many thousands of the marshlands' residents had moved deeper into the marshes or fled to Iran.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lake Milh — from space, June 1996 Coordinates …   Wikipedia

  • lake — lake1 /layk/, n. 1. a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land. 2. any similar body or pool of other liquid, as oil. 3. (go) jump in the lake, (used as an exclamation of dismissal or impatience.) [bef. 1000; ME lak(e) …   Universalium

  • Lake — /layk/, n. Simon, 1866 1945, U.S. engineer and naval architect. * * * I Relatively large body of slow moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin. Lakes are most abundant in high northern latitudes and in mountain regions, particularly …   Universalium

  • Lake Tharthar — Tharthar is also the wife of Stilgar, in the book Dune by Frank Herbert. Lake Tharthar Landsat 5 (1990) Location Al Anbar Province …   Wikipedia

  • Lake Hammar — Infobox lake lake name = Lake Hammar image lake = caption lake = image bathymetry = caption bathymetry = location = coords = coord|30|46|0|N|47|3|0|E|type:waterbody region:IQ|display=inline,title type = saline lake inflow = outflow = catchment =… …   Wikipedia

  • Hammar Marshes — The Hammar Marshes were a large complex of wetlands in Iraq that were part of the Tigris Euphrates river system, along with the Huwaizah and Central Marshes. The Hammar Marshes formerly covered an area of 2,800 square kilometres of permanent… …   Wikipedia

  • Nad Al Hammar — United Arab Emirates community Nad Al Hammar ند الحمر …   Wikipedia

  • Mesopotamian Marshes — 2000 2009 The Mesopotamian Marshes are a wetland area located in southern Iraq and partially in southwestern Iran. Historically the marshlands, mainly composed of the separate but adjacent Central, Hawizeh and Hammar Marshes, used to be the… …   Wikipedia

  • Tigris-Euphrates river system — ▪ river system, Asia Introduction  great river system of Southwest Asia, comprising the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their sources within 50 miles (80 km) of each other in eastern Turkey and travel southeast through northern Syria and… …   Universalium

  • Marsh Arabs — Maʻdān معدان Total population 500,000[1] Regions with significant populations Middle East …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”