Lake Timsah

{{Short description|Lake in Egypt}} {{Infobox body of water |name = Lake Timsah |image = Nile_Delta_Surrounding.jpg |caption = Map of the Nile Delta showing Lake Timsah at center right. |image_bathymetry = |caption_bathymetry = |coords = {{coord|30.56667|32.28333|display=inline,title|name=Lake Timsah}} |lake_type =Hydrographic |inflow = |outflow = |basin_countries = |location = Al Isma'iliyah, Egypt |length = |width = |area = {{convert|14|km2|abbr=on}} |depth = |max-depth = |volume = {{convert|80000000|m3|abbr=on}} |residence_time= |shore = |elevation = |islands = |cities = |frozen =  | pushpin_map = Egypt | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Timsah in Egypt. | pushpin_map_caption =  | website = | reference = }}

'''Lake Timsah''', Arabic for '''Crocodile Lake''' ({{langx|ar|بُحَيْرة التِّمْسَاح}}), is a lake in Egypt on the Nile Delta. It lies in a basin developed along a fault extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez through the Bitter Lakes region.<ref>{{cite book|title=Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus|first=Russell E.|last=Gmirkin|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2006|isbn=0-567-02592-6|pages=231}}</ref> In 1800, a flood filled the Wadi Tumilat, which caused Timsah's banks to overflow and moved water south into the Bitter Lakes about {{convert|9|mi|km|spell=in}} away.<ref>Hoffmeier, p.43</ref> In 1862, the lake was filled with waters from the Red Sea, and became part of the Suez Canal.<ref>Stanley, p.32</ref>

==Geography== Lake Timsah lies within a depression that spans the isthmus between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.<ref name="rogers">{{cite book |access-date=2009-04-10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jFGHnqSKENIC&dq=Lake+Timsah&pg=PA124|author=Jerry R. Rogers, Glenn Owen|title=Water Resources and Environmental History|publisher=ASCE Publications|year=2004| pages=124|isbn=9780784475508}}</ref> The lowest points of the depression form shallow natural lakes, of which Timsah is one.<ref name="rogers" /> The surface area of Lake Timsah covers 5.4 square miles.<ref name="Ismailia">{{cite web|url=http://www.touregypt.net/ismailia.htm|title=Ismailia|access-date=2009-04-09}}</ref> Most of the lake is marshy and depth rarely exceeds {{convert|3|ft|m|abbr=off}}.<ref name="gollasch">{{cite book |access-date=2009-04-10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cdJCAAAAIAAJ&dq=Lake+Timsah&pg=PA192|author=Stephan Gollasch, Andrew N. Cohen|title=Bridging Divides: Maritime Canals as Invasion Corridors|publisher=Springer|year=2006| pages=229}}</ref>

It has been asserted that, in ancient times, Lake Timsah was the northern terminus of the Red Sea.<ref name="Columbia">''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', Sixth Edition, s.v. [http://www.bartleby.com/65/su/SuezCana.html "Suez Canal"]. Accessed 14 May 2008.</ref><ref name="Naville">Naville, Édouard. "Map of the Wadi Tumilat" (plate image), in ''The Store-City of Pithom and the Route of the Exodus'' (1885). London: Trubner and Company.</ref>

On March 4, 1863, the city of Ismailia, named in honor of the viceroy Ismail Pasha, arose on Lake Timsah's northern bank.<ref>Nourse, p.54</ref> Several beaches overlook the lake, including the Moslem Youth, Fayrouz, Melaha, Bahary, Taawen, and a few Suez Canal Authority beaches.<ref name="Ismailia"/>

==Canals==

=== Canal of the Pharaohs ===

thumb|Approximate location of Canal of the Pharaohs

Lake Timsah possibly first became a juncture for canal construction approximately 4,000 years ago during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt,<ref>Shea, William H. "A Date for the Recently Discovered Eastern Canal of Egypt" ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', No. 226 (Apr., 1977), pp. 31-38</ref> and was expanded by Darius I.<ref>Paice, Patricia "Persians" in Kathryn A. Bard and Steven Blake Shubert, eds. ''Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt''(New York: Routledge, 1999),</ref>

=== Suez Canal ===

[[File:Suez Canal Ismailia2.jpg|thumb|right|The Suez Canal at Ismailia by the northern bank of Lake Timsah, c. 1860. Completion of the segment brought waters from Lake Manzaleh to Lake Timsah.]] Suez Canal construction in the vicinity of Lake Timsah began in 1861 on the segment north of the lake.<ref name="royal">{{cite book |access-date=2009-04-10|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YhQ2AAAAMAAJ&dq=Lake+Timsah&pg=RA1-PA504|author= Royal Statistical Society (Great Britain), Statistical Society (Great Britain).|title= Journal of the Royal Statistical Society|publisher= Royal Statistical Society|year=1887| pages=503–509}}</ref> Initial preparations included the construction of sheds to house 10,000 workers, steam sawmills, and importation of large quantities of wheelbarrows and wooden planks.<ref name="royal" /> 3,000 laborers dug a channel (Ismailia Canal) from the Nile to Lake Timsah in 1861 and 1862, which brought a fresh water supply to the area.<ref name="royal" /><ref name="henderson">{{cite book |access-date=2009-04-10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVOlHv6P68IC&dq=Ismailia+Suez+Canal+construction&pg=PA149|author=W.O. Henderson|title=The Industrial Revolution on the Continent: Germany, France, Russia 1800-1914|publisher=W.O. Henderson|year=2006| pages=151|isbn = 9780415382021}}</ref> It was also proposed to construct a halfway port at this point along the canal.<ref>{{cite book|title=Water Resources and Environmental History|pages=124|first1=Jerry R.|last1=Rogers|first2=Glenn Owen|last2=Brown|first3=Jürgen|last3=Garbrecht|publisher=ASCE Publications|year=2004|isbn=0-7844-0738-X}}</ref> The Ismailia section of the Suez Canal, which connected Lake Manzala to Lake Timsah, was completed in November 1862.<ref name="henderson" /> Construction of the segment was completed with forced labor, which expanded the workforce to 18,000 men.<ref name="royal" /><ref name="henderson"/> The trench measured {{convert|50|ft|m}} wide by four to six feet deep and connected Lake Timsah to the Mediterranean Sea.<ref name="royal" /> Work began south of Lake Timsah in 1862–1863 as expansion continued on the northern segment.<ref name="royal" /> Forced labor was used during canal construction from March 1862 until Ismail Pasha outlawed the practice in 1864.<ref name="henderson"/> As a result of the canal, waters from Lake Manzaleh flowed into Lake Timsah.<ref name="henderson"/> Expansion continued on the northern segment until 1867 and on the southern segment until 1876.<ref name="royal" />

==Environment==

=== Salinity === Lake Timsah is a brackish lake that experiences significant variations in salinity.<ref name="gollasch" /> Human engineering projects have impacted salinity, with resulting changes in the lake's biota.<ref name="gollasch" /> Decreases in salinity were noted as early as 1871 following Suez Canal construction, and subsequent enlargement of the channel from the Nile and other construction projects increased the inflow of fresh water to the lake.<ref name="gollasch" /> The El-Gamil outlet serves as Lake Timsah's principal source of salt water.<ref name="gollasch" /> Timsah's main source of fresh water was annual Nile flooding until the Aswan High Dam interrupted these flows in 1966, although groundwater also accounts for much of the lake's freshwater supply.<ref name="gollasch" /> Lake Timsah experiences both stratification variations in salinity and seasonal surface variations in salinity, and in recent decades freshwater taxa have been overtaking brackish taxa.<ref name="gollasch" />

=== Pollution ===

In 2002, a study was conducted to check the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fish and shellfish species that locals consume from the lake.<ref name="EPA">{{cite web|url=http://map1.epa.gov/html/newsjune02.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020819063817/http://map1.epa.gov/html/newsjune02.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 19, 2002|title=US EPA|access-date=2009-04-09}}</ref> Samples included tilapia, crabs, bivalves, clams and gastropods.<ref name="EPA"/> The results showed that crabs contained "significantly higher concentrations of both total and carcinogenic PAHs than other species, while clams contained significantly lower levels of PAHs."<ref name="EPA"/>

In 2003, a number of groups attempted to relieve the lake of pollution.<ref name="AlAhram">{{cite web|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/658/fe4.htm|title=Making a city livable|publisher=Al-Ahram News|author=Yasmine El-Rashidi|access-date=2009-04-09}}</ref> It was a significant event for the local community, since the lake is of economic importance to the city and its fishermen.<ref name="AlAhram"/>

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== * {{cite book|last=Hoffmeier|first=James Karl|title=Ancient Israel in Sinai|publisher=Oxford University Press US|year=2005|isbn=0-19-515546-7}} * {{cite book|last=Stanley|first=Henry Morton|title=My Early Travels and Adventures in America and Asia|url=https://archive.org/details/myearlytravelsad00stan|url-access=registration}} * {{cite book|last=Nourse|first=Joseph Everett|title=The Maritime Canal of Suez|url=https://archive.org/details/maritimecanalsu00nourgoog}}

==External links== * [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/596353/Lake-Timsah Encyclopædia Britannica Online]

Timsah Category:Nile Delta Category:Wadi Tumilat