Chott Melrhir

South of the Aurès, Chott Melrhir spreads across a great depression below sea level. It has no outlet to the sea: water brought by wadis such as the Djedi and the Arab gathers in the basin and evaporates beneath the desert sun. In wetter months the chott becomes a shallow expanse of water; in summer the surface dries into a salt pan. Its salt-encrusted flats form a stark contrast to the mountain valleys to the north.