Great Bitter Lake
|
The Great Bitter Lake from space |
For other places called Bitter Lake, see Bitter Lake.The
Great Bitter Lake (
Arabic: البحيرة المرة الكبرى;
transliterated: al-Buhayrah al-Murra al-Kubra) is a salt water lake between the north and south part of the
Suez Canal. It is adjoined by the
Small Bitter Lake (Arabic: البحيرة المرة الصغرى; transliterated: al-Buhayrah al-Murra as-Sughra), separated by a contraction. Together, the Bitter Lakes have a surface area of about 250 km². To the north, the canal also runs through
Lake Manzala and
Lake Timsah.
As the canal has no locks, sea water flows freely into the lake from the
Mediterranean and the
Red Sea, replacing water lost to
evaporation. The lake acts as a buffer for the canal, reducing the effect of tidal currents.
During the
Six-Day War in 1967, the canal was closed, leaving 14 ships trapped in the lake until 1975. These ships became known as the "
Yellow Fleet", because of the desert sands which soon covered their decks. A number of local
postage stamps (or rather, decorative labels, since they had no postal validity) were created by the crews, which are sought after by collectors.
*
Melampus in Suez- the tale of a sailor of the
MS Melampus, one of the ships trapped in the lake in 1967.
