Egypt Desert was an Old Lake

The geologists has estimated that one of desert area in Egypt was an old lake last time. The analysis about it was published in Geology journal issued on December 2010.

The lake area was estimated bigger than Erie Lake. The range of the lake was until west side of Nile River, even it was estimated to reach Sudan's border.

The ancient lake was estimated to be formed 250,000 years ago for the first time. After forming periods, the lake got dried and had gone 80,000 years ago.

Ted Maxwell, a geologist from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington said that by knowing the lake position and forming periods, we can know the condition of environment when people on that time started to migrate out of Africa.

"You would realize that this place was full of a big lake when people on that time migrated out of Africa, Maxwell said. It has been said that people migrated out of Africa since 200,000 years ago.

The geologists used satellite to identify and analyze when taken from 80's and 90's periods.

"It was surprise when we realize,'hey, it might be a lake area," Maxwell said.

Although it was supported by several topography proves, they were still not enough to determine if there or not the lake and how the forming is. One of supported proves is there Tushka lowland area. The area was said that it was so low enough to be flooded by Nile River water and made the lake forming.

Another prove was there fish fossil where found in the desert area and having a same characteristic with fish in Nile River. The fish fossil shows that the water had connection with Nile River.

In the meantime, one of proves that could not be found is a beach line. Maxwell said that the beach line might be gone, covered by sands which also covering the lake area.

"Another problem is there no prove of sedimentation on the area," Maxwell said when interviewed by Discovery. There was no sedimentation made us got difficulty to prove the existence of that big lake.

Even such, Christopher Hill from Boise State University, another scientist who not involved in the study, is just pretty sure that the desert area had been an old lake.

About the water source, according to Hill, Nile was not the only possibility. "About the water source, the other possibilities are the drainage from plateau to west, the water source in the ground from south, local rain and another potential," he said.

Hill also said,"The sediment remains from archeological artifact show that the lake was created from local rain or ground water. Then lake extended until the area connected with Nile River."

Source: Discovery
Written on kompas.com by: Yunanto Wiji Utomo