Lake Mariout

Lake Mariout
Coordinates
Lake type	Brackish
Basin countries	Egypt
Settlements	Alexandria

File:Salt refining-Lake Mariout.JPG

Dried out section of Lake Mariout, used for salt refining.

Lake Mariout (Arabic: بحيرة مريوط‎‎ Boḥēret Maryūṭ , IPA: [boˈħeːɾet mɑɾˤˈjuːtˤ]), also spelled Maryut or Mariut, is a brackish lake in northern Egypt. The lake area covered 200 km² at the beginning of the 20th century, but at the beginning of the 21st century, it covers only about 50 km².

It is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by the narrow isthmus on which the city of Alexandria was built. The lake shore is home to fisheries and saltworks. Some of the marshy areas around the lake have been reclaimed for new building as the city grows.

The name derives from Mareotis or Marea, the name of the lake in ancient times.

According to the philosopher Philo, in the 1st century AD, the monastic community of Therapeutae was located by the shores of this lake.

The fish species Nile perch live in the lake, although it principally needs fresh water to live in, and the lake contains some salt.