Qarun Lake
Qarun Lake is an ancient lake in the northwest of the Faiyum Oasis, 80 km (50 mi) southwest of Cairo, Egypt. In prehistory, it was a freshwater lake, with an area estimated to vary between 1,270 km² (490 mi²) and 1,700 km² (656 mi²).
It persists today as a smaller saltwater lake called Birket Qarun. The lake’s surface is 43 m (140 ft) below sea-level, and covers about 202 square kilometers (78 sq mi).
The lake, known by the Greeks as Lake Moeris from the Egyptian word mer wer, meaning “great lake,
