Bahr Yussef

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The Bahr Yussef(29°14′29″N 30°55′00″E / 29.241473°N 30.916729°E / 29.241473; 30.916729^[1] )(Arabic: بحر يوسف‎), which roughly translates from Arabic as "the waterway of Joseph", is a canal which connects the Nile River with Fayyum in Egypt. This was originally in prehistoric times a natural offshoot of the Nile which created a lake to the west during high floods. Around 2300 BC, this was made into a canal by being widened and deepened by Amenemhat IV of the 12th dynasty to create Lake Moeris. The canal was built into the natural incline of the valley, creating a channel 15 km long and 5 m deep that sloped into the Fayyum depression. The canal was controlled by the Ha-Uar Dam, which was actually two dams that regulated the flow into the lake and out of the Nile. As the surrounding area changed at about 230 BC, the Bahr Yussef eventually became neglected, leaving most of Lake Moeris to dry up creating the depression that exists today and the modern province of Al Fayyum.