Siwa Oasis Analysis
Dakhla Oasis is located in the western desert of Egypt, approximately 750 km southwest of Cairo. The study region covers an area of approximately 500 km2. The bottom of Dakhla depression is bordered from the north and north east by steep scarps of the Eocene Limestone plateau, but slowly rises to the south where it merges with the plain of Upper Cretaceous Nubian sandstone (Ghadiry et al., 2012). Dakhla Oasis occupies one of a chain of structurally motivated topographic depressions underneath the edge of the Libyan Plateau, centered at 25.5°N, 29°E. The depression is confined within the 140m contour, containing a larger western basin with least elevation of 92 m and a leaser eastern one down to 121 m. The settled oasis located in the central,
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Siwa Oasis: It is the remotest Oasis depression from the Nile Valley to the west and situated about 300 km southern the Mediterranean coast with Latitude from 29°100′ to 29°16′ N Longitude from 25°27′ to 25°35′ E. therefore, it is the most westerly and remote of Egypt’s major populated oases (El-Saied et al., 2015). Siwa Oasis occupies an elongated depression in the northwestern part of the western desert, 300 km from Mersa Matruh (Abdulaziz and Faid, 2015). The depression extends around 50 km in length, vary from 2 to 20 km in width and covers about 1000 km2. Siwa Oasis extends from 0 to 18 m below sea level. It presents a microcosm of current economic, social, and environmental changes (El-Saied et al., 2015). Siwa is the smallest oasis in the Egyptian part of the extensive Libyan Desert and depends exclusively on groundwater resources and drainage water reuse (Abdulaziz and Faid, 2015). It displays various land forms including salt lakes, salt marshes (Sabkhas) as well as cultivated lands and orchards New and developed irrigation facilities have occupied widespread strips of desert, however but wasteful groundwater use has resulted in the extension of naturally existing salt lakes and loss of arable land due to waterlogging and land salinization. Many springs were modified and developed since early times and the practice of excavating and lining springs and canals has been shown to eliminate or change the adjacent wetland habitat (El-Saied et al., 2015).
The soil of Siwa consists primarily of particles of limestone and sandstone derived from the walls and the floor of the Siwan depression or carried by the winds. It contains small amounts of clay (about 6.9%), larger proportions of sand (59%) and large amounts of soluble matter. The amount of sodium chloride found in Oasis soils ranges from about 0.12% to 59.12% (El-Saied et al.,
Siwa Oasis: It is the remotest Oasis depression from the Nile Valley to the west and situated about 300 km southern the Mediterranean coast with Latitude from 29°100′ to 29°16′ N Longitude from 25°27′ to 25°35′ E. therefore, it is the most westerly and remote of Egypt’s major populated oases (El-Saied et al., 2015). Siwa Oasis occupies an elongated depression in the northwestern part of the western desert, 300 km from Mersa Matruh (Abdulaziz and Faid, 2015). The depression extends around 50 km in length, vary from 2 to 20 km in width and covers about 1000 km2. Siwa Oasis extends from 0 to 18 m below sea level. It presents a microcosm of current economic, social, and environmental changes (El-Saied et al., 2015). Siwa is the smallest oasis in the Egyptian part of the extensive Libyan Desert and depends exclusively on groundwater resources and drainage water reuse (Abdulaziz and Faid, 2015). It displays various land forms including salt lakes, salt marshes (Sabkhas) as well as cultivated lands and orchards New and developed irrigation facilities have occupied widespread strips of desert, however but wasteful groundwater use has resulted in the extension of naturally existing salt lakes and loss of arable land due to waterlogging and land salinization. Many springs were modified and developed since early times and the practice of excavating and lining springs and canals has been shown to eliminate or change the adjacent wetland habitat (El-Saied et al., 2015).
The soil of Siwa consists primarily of particles of limestone and sandstone derived from the walls and the floor of the Siwan depression or carried by the winds. It contains small amounts of clay (about 6.9%), larger proportions of sand (59%) and large amounts of soluble matter. The amount of sodium chloride found in Oasis soils ranges from about 0.12% to 59.12% (El-Saied et al.,