Location:
7 km west of Port Said on "Port Said-Damietta" coastal road (The Lake Manzalah is in connection with the Mediterranean through Ashtoum El Gamil .In front of the mouth of the Lake is located Tanees Island. All the area is a very important place for birds.) Area: 180 km2
Type: Nature Reserve
Year of establishment: 1988
Objective: Conservation of migratory birds
Management: The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA).
Climate:
A typical Mediterranean climate with winter temperatures between 12o C and 20o C and summer temperatures between 18o C and 33o C. The annual rainfall averages 75-150 mm. The winds are mainly northern, north-eastern and western during summer and north eastern, northern, southeastern and western during winter, with a direct influence on the exchanges between the lake and the open sea. The water temperature in the lake varies from 13o C in winter to more than 30o C in summer.
Flora:
Most of the shallower areas are densely planted mainly with rooted plants (Phragmites, Potamogeton, Ceratophyllum: and Najas species.)
Fauna:
The area is an important wintering place for numerous birds, like Phalacrocorax carbo, Egretta alba, Ardea cinerea, Tadorna tadorna, Anas crecca, A. clypeata, Circus aeruginosus, Fulica atra, Recurvirostra avosetta, Charadrius alexandrinus, Calidris alba, C. minuta, C. alpina, Tringa totanus, Larus genei, Chlidonias hybridus, Alcedo atthis, Motacillidaes, Luscinia svecica: . Numerous fishes are caught in the lake and at the entrance, freshwater fishes like Cichlidae (Tilapia), Siluridae, Cyprinidae and Serranidae, and euryhaline or haline fishes like Mugilidae, Anguillidae, Serranidae, Sparidae, Clupeidae and Pleuronectidae..