Sudd

The Sudd, from the Arabic Sadd / سد /, barrier; also: Dam ', is a created from the Nile marsh and floodplain in southern Sudan.

Location

It is about 390 km long in the north-south extension, 240 km in the east- west extension and covers an area of approximately 55,000 km ². The wetland is located in the triangle between the cities Bor, Wau and Bentiu. Along the Bahr al - Jabal ( Nile), the Sudd of boron extends to the No-See.

Bor is situated about 427 m above sea level, the 390 km as the crow away Bentiu 398 m asl The slope is therefore less than 0.7 m / km.

The Nile is not bound in this section to a channel runs wild and far out to either side. The size of the inundation area varies during the year and is closely tied to the runoff from the equatorial lakes; it varies since 1964, between 20,000 and 30,000 km ².

Flora

The Sudd is considered the most fertile area of the country. In the area of ​​papyrus, reeds, hyacinth plants and many different marsh plants grow. Even remnants of tropical rainforest with mahogany trees are found around the Sudd.

Hydrology

Since the water in the Sudd by the very low gradient of the river flows extremely slow and spread over a large area, evaporate 53.2 percent of the Nile water. Therefore, there were plans by the Sudanese government in Khartoum, drain the water from the Sudd by the 300 km Jonglei Canal and to use it for irrigation of agricultural land. Due to the civil war in the south of the country, the work was stopped, however.

The marsh grasslands of the Sudd receives 700 to 1000 mm of rainfall throughout the year. One can speak of two seasons, from 4 ½ to 6 ½ humid rainy months in the summer, the rest of the year is relatively dry.

Navigability

The Sudd long time was not navigable, as the water is barely deeper than 4 m. Only the creation of a canal through the Sudd 1899-1903 allowed a regulated navigation. However, this channel must be constantly maintained. For this reason you began in the 1970s with the construction of the Jonglei Canal, which should guide the Nile at Sudd over. The work was stopped in 1983, a continuation of the project is controversial. From the diversion of northern Sudan would benefit because more water would then transported northward. The Sudd, however, would it dry out, it could further agricultural land in the north or in the Sudd area itself are managed.