Al-Salebat Depression is one of the tourist attractions in Al-Muthanna

Hamad Majid Badawi Hamza

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Abd Ali Kazim Al-Fatlawi

Al-Salebat Depression is located southwest of Al-Khader District in Al-Muthanna Governorate. It is considered one of the oldest marshes in Iraq according to what is indicated in the maps of ancient Iraq when the Euphrates River ended west of Ur. It is called Al-Salebat Marsh, of the Al-Salebat area in which it is located, and it is also called (Al-Wahshiyah) Marsh, of the wild water springs close to the marsh with a natural flow. Al-Salebat Marsh is the gateway to the southern desert of Al-Muthanna Governorate, which overlooks the deserts of neighboring countries, which extend from the Western Desert and the deserts of Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Due to the scarcity of wetlands in this vast area, the marsh is the central station for the air navigation line in the flight path of migratory birds to Iraq, so it is considered a natural reserve like models of natural ecosystems in the governorate and the types of plants and animals it contains. The marsh area, in general, has a desert character and contains multiple hills of dunes formed by air currents to the south of it in the form of a strip extending almost to its middle. (Muthanna Marshes Department, 2019: unpublished data)