The lake covers an area of over 35 hectares, is surrounded by diverse floral vegetation, and provides a natural habitat for 26 species of water birds, fish, and various wildlife, including wolves, domestic cats, and hedgehogs.[2]
The lake is entirely man-made, created during the 1940s, and fed by the flow of the Sig River and Sarno Valley. It was constructed to manage the floodwaters of the Mekerra River, thus mitigating the risk of destructive floods that used to threaten the city of Sidi Bel Abbès.[3][4]
The lake occupies a natural basin carved into sedimentary terrain, which is sealed downstream by an earthen dam. The lake bed prevents water seepage due to sediment deposition, and its maximum depth reaches approximately 30 meters.[5][6]
Recent (2022) research at the lake suggests that rising temperatures adversely affect the food chain in the lake by reducing the number of zooplankton.[7]
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