Lake Tharthar

The Wadi Tharthar, which is called in Iraq Buhayrat ath Tharthar (Arabic بحيرة الثرثار ) (also Wadi Ath - Tharthar, Samarra Tharthar ), is an artificial wadi about 120 kilometers northwest of Baghdad. It lies between the Tigris and Euphrates in a natural depression. With the help of a dam in Samarra can be transferred from the Tigris in the wadi in flood water to the cities on the lower reaches, including Baghdad, to protect against flooding.

The reconciliation was built in the 1950s. Among others, the German construction company Züblin 1953 was involved in the construction. Since 1985, water can also be transferred from the Euphrates.

The area of the 100 km long lake, which is the largest in Iraq, includes 2000-2500 km ²; the memory contents is specified with 72800-75000 million cubic meters. Before that, here is a small lake whose water level fluctuated depending on the tributaries from the north. In addition to flood protection, water transfer is also used for irrigation for agriculture. The wadi is deep and contains few nutrients. There is little natural vegetation, just bushes and scattered Ziziphus trees.