Lake Nasser in southern Egypt

Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency features Lake Nasser, a vast reservoir located in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Nasser is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world.

“The lake was created as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam across the waters of the Nile in the late-1960s. This ambitious project was designed to provide irrigation to new agricultural developments and attract people to the region,” reports ESA.

“The dam impounds floodwaters from the Nile, releasing them when needed to maximise their utility on irrigated land, to water hundreds of thousands of hectares of land downstream, but also in the nearby area. The dam also helps improve navigation through Aswān and generates an enormous amount of hydroelectric power.”

The Toshka Lakes are natural depressions that are filled by overflow from Lake Nasser. They were created in the 1980s and 1990s by the diversion of water from Lake Nasser through a man made canal.

“The rise and fall of the lakes depend on multi-year fluctuations in water flow from the Nile,” explains ESA. “From 2012 to 2018, the lakes had shrunk significantly, leaving only small remnants of water in the basins.” 

“Summer rainfall in Sudan in 2019 and record-breaking floods in 2020, resulted in the rapid filling of the lake’s waters. The lakes are relatively salty, with visible signs of eutrophication and algae formation.”

Video Credit: ESA

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Editor

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