The Medjerda River (Arabic: وادي مجردة), the classicalBagrada, is a river in North Africa flowing from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before emptying into the Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis. With a length of 450 km (280 mi), it is the longest river of Tunisia. It is also known as the Wadi Majardah or Mejerha (French: Oued Majardah).[1]
The Medjerda River originates in the Tell Atlas, part of the Atlas Mountains, in northeastern Algeria and then flows eastwards to Tunisia, then entering the Gulf of Utica of the Mediterranean Sea. Its course has a length of 460 kilometres (290 mi). It is the most important and longest river in Tunisia and is dammed in several locations, being a major supplier of water to the country's wheat crops.[2]
The Gulf of Utica was formed during the postglacial transgression about 6,000 years ago. Over time, fluvial deposits from the Medjerda gradually filled up the northern part of the gulf. The succession of events during historical times has been inferred from ancient documents and archaeological evidence.
Besides morphological ground observations, aerial and satellite photographs have been used to analyze how the landscape has evolved over the past 3,000 years. The gulf's southern part was filled up in late ancient times. The sea gradually withdrew from the northern part during the Middle Ages and modern times. The Ghar el Melh lagoon is the last vestige of what used to be the Utica gulf.
Following the last big flood in 1973, the Medjerda shifted, once again, its course. It now flows through a canal originally dug to evacuate the overflow of flood waters.[3]
History
Historically the Medjerda is Tunisia's crucial waterway providing water to the country supply facilities, it is also vital to the people living near the river. Water from the Medjerda is used for irrigation and is pivotal to the region's agriculture.
A strategic resource, it was fought over and settled many times by the Carthaginians , Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, and the Ottomans. Several major cities were founded on or near it, including Utica, Carthage, and eventually Tunis. The former ports of Utica and Ghar el-Melh (Rusucmona or Porto Farina) were eventually closed by the silting of their harbors.
medjerda, river, bagradas, bagradas, river, redirect, here, battles, battle, bagradas, river, disambiguation, arabic, وادي, مجردة, classical, bagrada, river, north, africa, flowing, from, northeast, algeria, through, tunisia, before, emptying, into, gulf, tuni. Bagradas and Bagradas River redirect here For the battles see Battle of the Bagradas River disambiguation The Medjerda River Arabic وادي مجردة the classical Bagrada is a river in North Africa flowing from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before emptying into the Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis With a length of 450 km 280 mi it is the longest river of Tunisia It is also known as the Wadi Majardah or Mejerha French Oued Majardah 1 MedjerdaThe Medjerda RiverMedjerda river drainage basin Map in French Native nameواد مجردا Arabic LocationCountriesAlgeria and TunisiaPhysical characteristicsSource locationTell Atlas AlgeriaMouth locationGulf of Tunis Mediterranean SeaLength460 kilometres 290 mi Basin size22 000 km2 8 500 sq mi Discharge average29 m3 s 1 000 cu ft s a view of the river Contents 1 Course 2 History 3 See also 4 ReferencesCourse EditThe Medjerda River originates in the Tell Atlas part of the Atlas Mountains in northeastern Algeria and then flows eastwards to Tunisia then entering the Gulf of Utica of the Mediterranean Sea Its course has a length of 460 kilometres 290 mi It is the most important and longest river in Tunisia and is dammed in several locations being a major supplier of water to the country s wheat crops 2 The Gulf of Utica was formed during the postglacial transgression about 6 000 years ago Over time fluvial deposits from the Medjerda gradually filled up the northern part of the gulf The succession of events during historical times has been inferred from ancient documents and archaeological evidence Besides morphological ground observations aerial and satellite photographs have been used to analyze how the landscape has evolved over the past 3 000 years The gulf s southern part was filled up in late ancient times The sea gradually withdrew from the northern part during the Middle Ages and modern times The Ghar el Melh lagoon is the last vestige of what used to be the Utica gulf Following the last big flood in 1973 the Medjerda shifted once again its course It now flows through a canal originally dug to evacuate the overflow of flood waters 3 History EditHistorically the Medjerda is Tunisia s crucial waterway providing water to the country supply facilities it is also vital to the people living near the river Water from the Medjerda is used for irrigation and is pivotal to the region s agriculture A strategic resource it was fought over and settled many times by the Carthaginians Romans Vandals Byzantines Arabs and the Ottomans Several major cities were founded on or near it including Utica Carthage and eventually Tunis The former ports of Utica and Ghar el Melh Rusucmona or Porto Farina were eventually closed by the silting of their harbors See also EditSidi Salem DamReferences Edit Azedine Beschaouch De l Africa latino chretienne a l Ifriqiya arabo musulmane questions de toponymie CRAI vol 130 n 3 1986 pp 530 549 Study on Integrated Basin Management of the Medjerda River Tunisia Countries amp Regions JICA www jica go jp Retrieved 2017 07 28 Ameur Oueslati Faouzia Charfi amp Fadhel Baccar La basse vallee de Oued Majerda et la lagune de Ghar El Melh projet WADI Coordinates 37 07 N 10 13 E 37 117 N 10 217 E 37 117 10 217 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Medjerda River amp oldid 1085454120, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
