Al-Asfar Lake
Saudi Arabia · Asia
About
Al-Asfar Lake (Buḥayrat al-Aṣfar, meaning "Yellow Lake") is a lake located east of Umran City in the Al-Ahsa Governorate in Eastern Saudi Arabia. It covers an area of approximately 20.8 square kilometers (20, 800, 000 m²). The lake is surrounded by sand dunes and is somewhat difficult to reach. Al-Asfar Lake is one of the most important wetland shallow lakes in the region. The lake is a historic landmark of Al-Hasa, and was mentioned by some historians of the Abbasid and Islamic Golden Era, such as Al-Hamawi, Al-Qalqashandi, and Al-Zamakhshari. At present, the primary source of the lake's water is agricultural drainage water, which leads some people to refer to it as semi man-made. In 2019, Al-Asfar Lake was declared a national nature reserve.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.