Tunisia - Chott El Jerid

Chott El Jerid is located in the mainland of the southwest of the country. Site shared between the Governorate of Tozeur and the Governorate of Kebili. Nearest towns: Tozeur (north-west) and Kebili (south-east). It covers an area of ​​586,187ha. The Chott El Jerid is a vast salt depression, located between the Cherb mountain range to the north and the desert to the south, and connected to the east to the Chott Fejaj; it is the largest of the string of depressions between the steppe and the desert, characteristic of northern Saharan. The region of Jerid (ie "palm region") includes the entire area of ​​Tozeur north of Chott. The wetland itself is difficult to access, crossed by a single road stretching about eighty kilometers between Tozeur in the north-west and the region of Kebili (called "Nefiaoua") in the south-east. . It is very dangerous to deviate from this road during the crossing of Chott because the surface is not stable, and the story tells of many incidents during which herds of camels, caravans, if not entire armies , have disappeared under unstable mud. Formerly, it sheltered a lake of great extent. Today it is rarely in water, and its main interest is rather hydrological, geological and geomorphological, because of underground fossil water tables that feed the oases around the site, and also the possibility of deposits of economic value, in particular of oil.