Wadi Halfa Salient
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Wadi Halfa Salient (after وادي حلفا Wādī Ḥalfā) |
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|---|---|
| disputed area | |
 Wadi Halfa Salient
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| Coordinates: 22°05′31″N 31°24′20″E / 22.09194°N 31.40556°ECoordinates: 22°05′31″N 31°24′20″E / 22.09194°N 31.40556°E | |
| Country |
 Sudan
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| State | Northern |
| Districts | Wadi Halfa |
| Time zone | EST (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 (UTC) |
The Wadi Halfa Salient (named after Wadi Halfa, Arabic وادي حلفا Wādī Ḥalfā, a nearby Sudanese city 22 kilometers south of the border) is the unofficial name of a salient of the international border between Sudan and Egypt along the Nile River to the north.
In 1899, the border between Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and Egypt was defined by the Condominium treaty to run along the 22nd degree north of latitude. However, access to the area north of the border along the Nile River and consequently the administration of the population of the area were easier from Sudan. Therefore, in 1902 an amendment to the original treaty defined the new administrative border, deviating north of the 22nd degree north of latitude along the Nile river, thereby placing this area under Sudanese administration.
Besides the Wadi Halfa Salient, there are two more areas where the border deviates from the 22nd degree north of latitude: the Hala'ib Triangle on the Red Sea coast, north of the original 1899 border, and the much smaller area around Bir Tawil, south of the original border.
Egypt claims the more favorable original border of 1899 along the 22nd degree north of latitude and therefore claims both the Hala'ib Triangle and the Wadi Halfa Salient, but not the Bir Tawil area. Since Sudan claims the amended border of 1902, it claims the same areas as Egypt, while no country claims the Bir Tawil area, making it de facto a terra nullius. While there have been disputes about the Hala'ib Triangle and military occupation by Egypt, the small area of the Wadi Halfa Salient remained out of the headlines because most of the area is flooded by Lake Nasser.
The Wadi Halfa Salient is roughly 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) wide and stretches finger-shaped on both sides of the original course of the Nile 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the north into Egyptian territory, with a total area of 210 km2 (81 sq mi). Because of the construction of the Aswan Dam and the flooding of Lake Nasser most of the area was flooded, affecting most of the villages of the area and the ancient city of Faras. Some of the people were resettled to New Halfa in the Butana region.
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Wikipedia