Editing Geography of Iraq (section)

===Lower Mesopotamia===
{{further|Lower Mesopotamia|Mesopotamian Marshes|Shatt al-Arab}}

An [[alluvial plain]] begins north of [[Baghdad]] and extends to the [[Persian Gulf]]. Here the Tigris and Euphrates rivers lie above the level of the plain in many places, and the whole area is a [[river delta]] interlaced by the channels of the two rivers and by irrigation canals. Intermittent [[lake]]s, fed by the rivers in flood, also characterize southeastern Iraq. A fairly large area ({{convert|15000|km2|mi2|abbr=on|disp=or}}) just above the confluence of the two rivers at [[Al Qurnah]] and extending east of the Tigris beyond the Iranian border is marshland, known as [[Hawr al Hammar]], the result of centuries of flooding and inadequate drainage. Much of it is permanent marsh, but some parts dry out in early winter, and other parts become marshland only in years of great flood.

Because the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates above their confluence are heavily [[silt]]- laden, [[irrigation]] and fairly frequent flooding deposit large quantities of silty loam in much of the delta area. Windborne silt contributes to the total deposit of sediments. It has been estimated that the delta plains are built up at the rate of nearly twenty centimeters in a century. In some areas, major floods lead to the deposit in temporary lakes of as much as thirty centimeters of mud.

The Tigris and Euphrates also carry large quantities of [[salt (chemistry)|salt]]s. These, too, are spread on the land by sometimes excessive irrigation and flooding. A high [[water table]] and poor surface and subsurface drainage tend to concentrate the salts near the surface of the soil. In general, the salinity of the soil increases from Baghdad south to the Persian Gulf and severely limits productivity in the region south of [[Al Amarah]]. The [[salinity]] is reflected in the large lake in central Iraq, southwest of Baghdad, known as [[Bahr al Milh]] (Sea of Salt). There are two other major lakes in the country to the north of Bahr al Milh: [[Buhayrat ath Tharthar]] and [[Buhayrat al Habbaniyah]].