Mesopotamian Marshes
Location of the Mesopotamian Marshes (Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh)
Ecology
Realm	Palearctic
Biome	Flooded grasslands and savannas
Borders	Arabian Desert, South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert, Zagros Mountains forest steppe
Geography
Area	35,572 km2 (13,734 sq mi)
Countries	Iraq, Iran
Conservation
Conservation status	Critical/endangered
Protected	3,070 km (9%)%

The Mesopotamian Marshes are wetlands found in Iraq, Iran, and especially Kuwait.^[1]

The Marsh Arabs are the inhabitants of the Mesopotamian Marshes. They are the descendants of ancient Sumerians^[source?] and in Saddam's violent reprisals, their population dwindled to roughly 20,000.^[2]

The marshes are inhabited by about 40 different types of birds, like the goliath heron and the African sacred ibis.^[3] There is a subspecies of the hooded crow called the Mesopotamian crow that lives in these marshes.^[4]

The three marshes that make up these wetlands are the following:

The Central Marshes are one of the three marshes that make up the Mesopotamian Marshes. They were nearly drained and have been flooded again.^[source?]

The Hawizeh Marshes, along with the Central and Hammar marshes, comprise this wetland.

The Hammar Marshes, along with the Central and Hawizeh marshes, are critical for forming the Mesopotamian Marshes.

• Tigris–Euphrates river system

1. ↑ "Mesopotamian Marshes, earthobservatory.nasa.gov".
2. ↑ "IRAQ'S MARSH ARABS, MODERN SUMERIANS, Simply Sharing". Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
3. ↑ "Mesopotamian marshes, BirdLife Data Zone".
4. ↑ "Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix), GlobalTwitcher".

• https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/12/11/photos-iraqs-marshes-are-dying-and-so-is-a-civilization