# Ha Bassa

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thumb|Herzliya winter swamp
thumb|250x250px|The tunnel entrance in the 1920s
thumb|250x250px|The Bassa on the Palestine Exploration Fund map, 1880
'''HaBassa''' (from [Arabic](/source/Arabic) ''bassa'', meaning "swamp"), formerly known as '''Bahret Katurieh''',<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft |title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology |year=1881 |page=134}}</ref> is a [Vernal pool](/source/Vernal_pool) in [Herzliya](/source/Herzliya), [Israel](/source/Israel). The Bassa area is a low-lying basin situated between the [kurkar](/source/kurkar) ridges of [Kfar Shmaryahu](/source/Kfar_Shmaryahu) and the city of Herzliya. In the [first decade of the 21st century](/source/2000s), most of the Bassa area was converted into an [urban park](/source/urban_park), now known as Herzliya Park.

== The Roman tunnel ==
During the [Byzantine period](/source/Byzantine_Empire), attempts were made to drain the swamp waters into the sea by means of a [tunnel](/source/tunnel) approximately 190 metres long and about 2 metres high, excavated through the kurkar ridge in order to exploit the fertile swamp soils for agriculture. The tunnel drained the water toward the Mediterranean Sea via Galilot Stream. Over the years, the tunnel became blocked, and the swamp returned to its original size about 1.5 kilometres in length and roughly half a kilometre in width.

In 1931, the tunnel, commonly referred to as the "Roman tunnel", was used by the [Haganah](/source/Haganah) as a site for shooting practice and training. Today, the tunnel serves as a habitat for bats, and parts of its walls have collapsed.<ref>{{cite web |date=2 January 2022 |title=Why is the Sharon region flooded every winter? – Meet the "Bathtub of the State" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJL3qNgjYHA |publisher=Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> The western entrance of the tunnel can be seen from [Highway 2](/source/Highway_2_(Israel)), approximately 900 metres north of the HaSira Interchange, on the eastern side of the road. Tunnel Street in Herzliya is named after its proximity to the tunnel.

== The Bassa ==
The Bassa was located between the Arab villages of Ajlil to the south and al-Haram to the north. In 1922, the site was identified by British Army health authorities as one of the most severe [malaria](/source/malaria) foci in the region, together with the swamp at the Galilot Junction.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.archive.org/stream/medicalservicesd01macpuoft#page/249/mode/1up |title=Medical Services; Diseases of the War |year=1922 |page=249}}</ref>

Following the British capture of the area, emergency measures were undertaken to eradicate [Anopheles](/source/Anopheles) mosquitoes, and the swamp was partially drained. Only with the establishment of Herzliya and the reopening of the Roman tunnel did the permanent swamp disappear, and the land was converted into agricultural fields. During the 1980s, some of these agricultural plots were abandoned, and a small portion of the original swamp area reverted into a seasonal pond that fills during winter and dries up in summer. Poor drainage in the area has led to flooding of nearby roads during periods of heavy rainfall.

== Herzliya Park ==
In the first decade of the 21st century, most of the Bassa area was transformed into an urban park. Part of the winter pond was preserved in its natural state as an element of the park landscape.

== External links ==
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* [http://www.inature.info/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%A7_%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%A6%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%94%D7%91%D7%90%D7%A1%D7%94 Herzliya Park and the Bassa – Nature and Landscapes in Israel]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131009130805/http://herzliya.muni.il/_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/Park_Herzliya-SHIMUR.pdf Integration of the winter pond within Herzliya Park ("HaBassa") and conservation of natural values], position paper by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, 2008
* Avital Gazit, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131009130805/http://herzliya.muni.il/_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/Park_Herzliya-SHIMUR.pdf Ecological survey: "Herzliya Basin" (HaBassa)], 2006

== References ==
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{{coord|32.171|34.823|type:waterbody_region:IL|display=title}}

Category:Herzliya
Category:Geography of Tel Aviv District
Category:Wetlands of Israel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ha Bassa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha_Bassa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha_Bassa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.