Lake Nasser History
Satellite view of Lake Nasser
(Click to enlarge)
The lake is some 560 km long and 35 km across at its widest point, which is near the tropic of cancer it covers a total surface area of 6400 km² and has a storage capacity of some 163 km³ of water.
Lake Nasser was created as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam. In the 1960's the dam was built by the Russians on the Nile at Aswan, the resulting Lake Nasser has flooded over 6,400 square kilometres of the Nile Valley, thus creating one of the largest man made lakes in Africa. The fish population of the original river was presented with a huge lake to live in and have thrived in their new habitat.
Between 1958 and 1970, the anticipated rising waters behind the dam required major relocation projects that were carried out during the 1960s. There were 18 ancient temples in the area.
Other history in the area
Russian Monument
(Click to enlarge)
Several important Nubian and ancient Egyptian archaeological sites were dismantled stone by stone and moved to higher ground, most notably the great temple of Abu Simbel
The Sudanese river-port and railway terminal of Wadi Halfa was lost beneath the waters, and a new town was built nearby; and Egypt's entire Nubian community from the upper reaches of the Nile – numbering several hundred thousand people – saw their villages disappear and were forced to relocate.
The Egyptian name is in honour of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was the mastermind behind the controversial High Dam project. A big monument in respect of the russians that undertook this massive project was built next to the high dam, made out of the stone pillars that were used to support the weight of the water! An engineering masterpiece in itself!
