Ghab Plain

{{Short description|Area of the al-Suqaylabiyah District in western Syria}} {{Infobox landform | name = Ghab Plain | native_name = | other_name = | type = Fertile depression  | image = Sahl el Ghab.jpg | image_size = | alt = Ghab Plain | caption = Ghab Plain, as seen from [[Apamea, Syria]]  | pushpin_map = | map_caption = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_label = | marker_size = | mapframe = | coordinates = {{Coord|35.545|36.319|type:landmark_region:SY_dim:50000|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref =  | location = Western Syria, primarily in [[al-Suqaylabiyah District]] | grid_ref = | grid_ref_UK = | grid_ref_Ireland = | range = | part_of = | water_bodies = [[Orontes River]]  | age = | orogeny = | formed_by = | geology =  | etymology = "Forest Plain" | nickname = | authority =  | operator =  | area = {{Convert|41000|ha|mi2}} | area_km2 = | area_mi2 = | area_ref =  | length = {{Convert|63|km|mi}} | width = {{Convert|12.1|km|mi}} | depth = | drop = | height =  | elevation = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | elevation_ref = | surface_elevation = | surface_elevation_m = | surface_elevation_ft = | surface_elevation_ref = | highest_point = | highest_elevation =  | volcanic_arc/belt = | volcanic_arc = | volcanic_belt = | volcanic_field = | last_eruption =  | topo = | designation = | free_label_1 = | free_data_1 = | free_label_2 = | free_data_2 = | free_label_3 = | free_data_3 = | website = | embedded = }} [[File:Geo siria ghab.png|thumb|Al-Ghab Plain in west Syria]] The '''Ghab Plain''' ({{langx|ar|سَهْلُ ٱلْغَابِ|Sahl al-Ġāb}}, literally: Forest Plain) is a fertile depression lying mainly in the [[al-Suqaylabiyah District]] in western [[Syria]]. The [[Orontes River]], flowing north, enters the Plain near [[Mhardeh|Muhradah]], around 25 km north-west of [[Hama]].<ref name="study">Federal Research Division, 2004, p. 74.</ref><ref name="water-security.org">[https://www.water-security.org/files/2014-10/Map-Topography-Hydrology%20%281%29.jpg Topography and Hydrology Map of the Orontes valley] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413071826/https://www.water-security.org/files/2014-10/Map-Topography-Hydrology%20%281%29.jpg |date=2017-04-13 }} water-security.org</ref>

The valley was flooded for centuries by the waters of the [[Orontes River]], which rendered it a swamp.<ref name="Sofer">Sofer, 1999, p. 205.</ref><ref>South, Coleman. Syria. Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2006. Print.</ref> The "Ghab project", beginning in the 1950s, drained the valley to make it habitable, [[arable land]],<ref name="Miranda">de Miranda, 2007, p. 267.</ref> providing an extra {{convert|41000|ha|mi2}} of irrigated farmland.<ref>Salman, 2009, p. 28.</ref>

The valley separates the [[al-Ansariyah mountains]] in the west from the [[Zawiya Mountain|Zawiyah mountain range]] and the plateau region to the east.<ref name="study"/> It is {{convert|63|km|mi}} long and {{convert|12.1|km|mi}} wide.<ref name="Sofer"/>

==Fisheries== Before its drainage, the Ghab was the center of the catfish ([[Silurus glanis]]) (''sallōr'' or ''samak aswad'') fisheries of the Orontes valley.<ref>J. Gaulmier, "Notes sur la pêche du silure dans la vallée du Ĝāb", ''Mélanges de l'Institut Français de Damas'' '''1''' (1929), p. 19-25</ref>

==Ghab project== [[File:Al-Ghab plain and Syrian coastal mountains, Apamea, Syria.jpg|thumb|Al-Ghab Plain and Syrian coastal mountains as seen from [[Apamea, Syria]].]]The Ghab project began in 1953 and made the area suitable for agriculture, by deploying new irrigation systems. The system included [[Barrage (dam)|barrages]], [[canal]] networks for irrigation and canal networks for drainage. Large barrages were built in [[Mahardah]], [[Zayzun, Hama|Zayzun]], [[Qarqur]] and other villages. The [[Mahardah Dam|dam at Mahardah]], built in 1961, is {{convert|40|m|ft}} high, and {{convert|200|m|ft}} long and holds {{convert|65000000|m3|cuyd}} of water.<ref name="Miranda" /> The [[Zeyzoun Dam]], built in 1996, was {{convert|32|m|ft}} high and held a maximum of {{convert|71000000|m3|cuyd}} of water; it failed in June 2002, leading to the deaths of 22 people and the displacement of over 2,000 as a large hole opened in the embankment and flooded {{convert|80|km2|mi2}} of the countryside downstream.

Other advantages of the Ghab project were the improvements in the systems of communication through the building of road and rail networks, previously not possible due to the swamps. In addition, [[malaria]] decreased because there was no longer stagnant water.<ref name="Miranda"/>

==Al-Ruj Plain== Northeast of the Ghab Plain is found another smaller plain, known as [[al-Ruj Plain]] (Rouj basin).<ref>[http://wikimapia.org/26791216/al-Rouj-Plain Wikimapia location]</ref> It is located between the Ghab Plain, and [[Amik Valley|Amouk Plain]]. This is an agriculturally prosperous enclave just west of the town of [[Idlib]].<ref name="water-security.org"/> Many ancient archaeological sites are located there.

==See also== * [[Ghab basin]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== *{{Citation|last=Federal Research Division|title=Syria a Country Study |publisher=Kessinger Publishing|date=2004|isbn=978-1-4191-5022-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B9L9ZWtnYsgC&q=Homs+gap&pg=PA74}} *{{Citation|title=Rivers of fire: the conflict over water in the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpZ2q6e5hJUC&q=ghab+syria&pg=PA205|first1=Arnon|last1=Sofer|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=1999|isbn=978-0-8476-8511-0}} *{{Citation|title=Water architecture in the lands of Syria: the water-wheels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6rsB59RRZkC&q=ghab+syria&pg=PA267|first1=Adriana|last1=de Miranda|publisher=L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER|year=2007|isbn=978-88-8265-433-7}} *{{Citation|title=The World Bank Policy for Projects on International Waterways: An Historical and Legal Analysis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TP59T5gJBbsC&q=ghab+syria&pg=PA31|first1=Salman M. A.|last1=Salman|publisher=World Bank Publications|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8213-7953-0}}

[[Category:Al-Ghab Plain| ]] [[Category:Plains of Syria]] [[Category:Hama Governorate]] [[Category:Geography of Idlib Governorate]]