Guelta

A guelta, close to Oubankort in Adrar des Ifoghas.
Camels in the Guelta d'Archei, in north-eastern Chad.

A guelta (or qalta or galta or agelmam), from Arabic:قلتة which means a lower level of height in ground between rocks which holds water, is a pocket of water that forms in drainage canals or wadis in the Sahara.[1] The size and duration will depend on the location and conditions. It may last year-round through the dry season if fed by a source such as a spring.[1] When rivers (wadis) dry up there may remain pockets of water along its course (c.f. ox-bow lake).[1] In Western Sahara, gueltas correspond with oasis.[1]

Some examples include Guelta d'Archei in Chad and Timia in Niger.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gene E. Likens, ed. (2010). Lake Ecosystem Ecology: A Global Perspective. Academic Press. p. 269. Retrieved June 5, 2014.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.