Lake Nasser

Lake Nasser (Arabic: Buhayrat Nasir) is a vast artificial lake in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Strictly, "Lake Nasser" refers only to the much larger portion of the lake that is in Egyptian territory (83% of the total), with the Sudanese preferring to call their smaller body of water Lake Nubia.

Related Topics:
Arabic - Artificial lake - Egypt - Sudan

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It was created as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam across the waters of the Nile between 1958 and 1970.

Related Topics:
Aswan High Dam - Nile - 1958 - 1970

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The lake is some 550 km long and 35 km across at its widest point, which is near the Tropic of Cancer.

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It covers a total surface area of 5,250 km² and has a storage capacity of some 157 km³ of water.

Related Topics:
5,250 km² - 157 km³

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The rising waters of the dam required major relocation projects that were carried out during the 1960s.

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Several important Nubian archaeological sites were dismantled block by block and moved to higher ground, most notably Abu Simbel. The Sudanese river-port and railway terminal of Wadi Halfa was lost beneath the waters and a new town was built in its place;

Related Topics:
Nubian - Abu Simbel - Wadi Halfa

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and Egypt's entire Nubian community from the upper reaches of the Nile – numbering several hundred thousand people – saw their villages disappear and were forced to relocate.

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The Egyptian name is in honor of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was the mastermind behind the controversial High Dam project.

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Rising lake levels through the 1990's resulted in spilling over of waters into the Western Desert, forming the Toshka Lakes beginning in 1998.

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